By André Beganski
In the Mount Katahdin region, snowmobilers are a natural part of the winter landscape. In small packs moving at high speeds, they carve through the snow, leaving plumes of white powder in their wakes.
Snowmobiling is about as Maine as hunting, mudding and other popular forms of outdoor recreation.
“A ton of people just love the freedom of the open trail,” said Josh Stahl, a recreation guide for the New England Outdoor Center (NEOC), an adventure resort with views of Mount Katahdin, which also offers guided activities like hiking and rafting in the summer and snowshoeing and ice fishing in the winter.
NEOC owner Matt Polstein said that with more than 14,000 miles of interconnected snow trails, it is possible to travel the entire state of Maine behind the windshield of a snowmobile. Stahl added that in the winter, the state features more miles of snowmobile trails than of functioning roads, making them a regular part of rural life in Maine.
While snowmobiles are commonly used for recreation around the state, they also fulfill people’s transportation needs. For those who live in remote houses, snowmobiles are the only viable method of transportation during the winter as it enables them to travel despite any icy road conditions. Some people rely on their snowmobiles to purchase groceries as well as get to and from work, said Stahl.
Maine’s government plays a key role in supporting snowmobiles as a form of transportation.
Maine’s Bureau of Parks and Land manages over 300 miles of trails spread across the state, connecting various towns to one another, according the state government’s website. In addition, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation maintains four separate trail systems, ranging from the mountainsides of Mount Blue State Park to the old logging roads of Washington County. Combined, they create a seemingly endless list of destinations for enthusiasts to explore.
The terrain is host to a variety of scenic and historical sights. While enjoyed mostly by residents of the state, the reputable quality Maine’s snowmobile trails attracts visitors from all over.
“We get snowmobilers from Florida, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Wherever people snowmobile, they’ll come to Maine if we have good snow,” said Polstein.
He views snowmobiles as a foundation of Maine’s winter tourism industry and the NEOC’s offerings as well.
“We do almost $1 million in winter business here now and 80 percent of that is driven by snowmobiling,” he said.
The NEOC owns 40 snowmobiles and offers visitors rentals and guided tours meant for both novice and advanced riders. The tours explore the surrounding Katahdin region and are each led by a state-registered tour guide; they last anywhere from three to eight hours.
In describing how the NEOC has grown to be more accommodating of snowmobilers, Polstein said, “We took over grooming 100 miles of trails to make sure that we had consistently good riding in the area and that’s really helped the area’s reputation and helped our business simultaneously.”
Stahl said trail maintenance is a year-round process. He said that trails are primarily worked on in the summer, when overgrown foliage is cut back. During the fall season, signs are placed along the trails and any holes in the ground are filled in to ensure that riding is smooth by the first snowfall.
Outside of work, Stahl said he does a lot of snowmobiling. He attributed his love of snowmobiling to “the camaraderie that snowmobilers share and just the freedom of access that the trails afford.”