In 2020, I visited the fascinating Patten Lumberman’s Museum in the tiny town of Patten, Maine, in northern Penobscot County. The museum is filled with all sorts of artifacts related to Mane’s timber-harvesting past, from pike poles to caulked boots, but the object that catches most visitors’ attention is the massive steel locomotive parked under a shed outside the museum.

Equipped with a set of giant skis up front and steel wheels surrounded by a tank-like metal tread, it looks like something designed by Dr. Suess. It’s called the Lombard Steam Log Hauler, and its design was patented in 1901 by Alvin Orlando Lombard, a blacksmith from Waterville, Maine. Its purpose was to haul sleds laden with logs from the snowy woods of northern Maine, and as such it technically can be considered the very first “snowmobile” in history. (Incidentally, it also employed the first linked-metal-track system, which still used on modern tanks.)

Rubber Tracks Arrive

Of course, the modern snowmobile bears no resemblance to the hulking, lumbering, steam-powered log hauler, but prototypes relying on internal combustion engines were already in the works by the early 1900s, including Ford Model T’s retrofitted with tracks and skis. In 1927, Carl Eliason of Wisconsin patented a snow machine powered by a two-stroke engine driving a continuous metal-track system and steered via a set of front skis. He built 40 of them before selling the company.

Meanwhile, in Quebec, Canada, Joseph-Armand Bombardier was tinkering with a vehicle that could handle deep, wet snow and was propelled by a continuous rubber-and-cotton track developed in Russia. In 1937, Bombardier launched his enclosed, seven-passenger B-7  model powered by a V8 flathead engine, and, in 1942, a 12-passenger model with a six-cylinder engine (Armond Bombardier: Inventor of the Snowmobile, 1991; The Bombardier Story: Planes Trains & Snowmobiles, By Larry McDonald, 2001). These large, enclosed “snowbuses” were used by rural doctors, mail carriers, hospitals, and schools, but also saw limited military duty.

Recreational Revolution

The true modern snowmobile design featuring an open cockpit, flexible track, ski-steering, and centered bench seat was introduced by Polaris Industries in 1957. It was called the Sno Traveler. Bombardier (now Bombardier Recreational Products) soon followed with a similar design called the Ski-Doo in 1960.

Production and competition quickly ramped up in the 1960s and ‘70s, eventually peaking in 1971 when a half-million snowmobiles were sold by over 100 different manufacturers. Over the ensuing years, numerous improvements were made to the standard design, including the use of four-stroke engines, heated seats and handlebars, advanced suspension, modular storage, multi-passenger seating, and models built for off-trail or groomed-trail riding.

Today, there are roughly 1.2 million snowmobiles registered in the U.S., and over 601,000 in Canada. Snowmobile sales worldwide in winter of 2021-2022 were 130,644 units (NH Snowmobile Association data). It’s estimated that snowmobiling generates over $30 billion in economic activity in North America.

Snowmobile Clubs & Trails

Snowmobile clubs in New England began to form almost as soon as the machines became widely available to the general public. After all, unlike boating, a tremendous amount of work is needed to build and maintain the trails that snowmobiles travel on! Today, Maine alone is home to over 280 snowmobile clubs.

Eventually, umbrella groups such as the Maine Snowmobile Association, the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, and the New Hampshire Snowmobile Association were formed to work with state fish & game and natural resources agencies to maintain and link the various trails around the states and enforce snowmobiling regulations. Maine’s Interconnected Trail System, or ITS, runs through thousands of miles of wilderness and connects with over 10,000 miles of secondary trails, most running through privately owned lands.

Evolving System

Snowmobile trails are ever-evolving, as some trail sections may be closed due to landowner conflicts, logging operations, or conservation concerns. Clubs often need to re-route trails, which means negotiating with landowners and the state, building new trail sections, and installing signage, not to mention updating the trail maps and alerting the public to the changes. Then there’s the cost of buying and maintaining trail-grooming equipment, as each club is responsible for managing a certain length of trail in their area.

Club dues and state grants assist the clubs with their many expenses. State funds are derived through snowmobile registration fees and trail passes (Maine’s 2023 seasonal registration fees are $56/resident; $120 nonresident). Non-residents wishing to access trails in neighboring states must buy passes or registration stickers, or risk a fine if caught by law-enforcement officials who patrol the trails.

New England snowmobiling culture, like the machines themselves, continue to evolve due to a variety of factors—not least among them the warming trend due to climate change. However, snowmobiling will always maintain a passionate cadre of riders willing to follow the snow.