Snowmobile Trail Information

Great trails throughout the region

Snowmobilers love the trails around Traverse City. Blanketed with soft white snow, the region’s gently sculpted hills and valleys become the perfect setting for winter adventure – a glittering, unearthly landscape waiting to be explored, enjoyed and savored. More than 200 miles of the country’s finest and most diverse snowmobiling trails are in the enchanted Boardman and Jordan River valleys.

There’s something here for every taste – whether it’s twisting and turning through dense hardwood forests, touring over hills, bridges, and waterways, or racing across wide-open spaces with plenty of room to enjoy the fresh white powder. Best of all, both trail systems are close to Traverse City’s hotels, resorts and restaurants – an important consideration at the end of a long day of sledding.

The Boardman Valley Trail is an 80-mile network of scenic routes that wanders through thick green cedars and pines beside the snow-cradled river, skirts the edges of icebound lakes among wooded hills, and glides through stands of oak where deer run silently beside the pathway. The Jordan Valley Trail, about a half-hour to the northeast, features over 130 miles of spectacular trails not far from Shanty Creek and the picturesque village of Bellaire.

Since the region’s scenery is so diverse, the trails encompass many different landscapes: snug tunnels of tall snowy evergreens, open stands of hardwood where the sun shines down through blue shadows, high ridges where eagles soar, wide meadows that look out over distant glacial lakes. Best of all, they’re just a few minutes from Traverse City, whose restaurants, galleries, casinos and resorts provide a welcome dose of luxury at the end of a day’s riding.

That’s snowmobiling “Traverse City style” – a blend of backwoods adventure, aesthetic appreciation and off-the-trail pampering. Many sledders come here precisely because they want to sample its winter amenities.

Traverse City’s winter lodging is extremely diverse, with 60 hotels, motels and resorts providing almost 4,000 rooms ranging from the budget-conscious to the luxurious. Two resorts – Ranch Rudolf and the Shoestring Resort – provide direct snowmobile access to the trailhead, while others, like the Interlochen Motel, Kingsley Motel, Econo Lodge and Ellis Lake Resort, can be reached by way of connecting trails. Still others, like the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, Holiday Inn Express, Sleep Inn and Shanty Creek Resort, are located within a mile or two of the trail and provide ample parking for trailers.

Boardman Valley Trail:
Hotels with access to this trail:  Econo Lodge, Kingsley Motel, Ranch Rudolph and Shoe String Resort

Betsie River Trail:
Hotels with access to this trail:  Interlochen Motel and Ellis Lake Resort

In addition, the area has several fine outfitters where snowmobiles can be rented.