TahoeSnowmobiling.org - Snowmobile Facts

There are four major manufacturers that build snowmobiles. They are: Arctic Cat - headquartered in Thief River Falls, MN; Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) - headquartered in Valcourt, Quebec Canada; Polaris Industries - headquartered in Medina, MN; and Yamaha Motor Corporation - headquartered in Cypress, CA.

In 2004, there were 109,750 snowmobiles sold in the U.S., and 48,556 snowmobiles sold in Canada. The average suggested retail price of a new snowmobile sold in 2004 was $6,550.

The number of Licensed Snowmobile Dealers:
- United States - 1960
- Canada - 900
- Scandinavia - 403

There are approximately 2.7 million registered snowmobiles in the world.
- United States - 1.77 million
- Canada - 557,000
- Scandinavia - 370,000

Worldwide snowmobile sales:
- 1993 - 158,000
- 1994 - 181,000
- 1995 - 227,400
- 1996 - 252,324
- 1997 - 260,735
- 1998 - 257,936
- 1999 - 230,887
- 2000 - 208,297
- 2001 - 208,592
- 2002 - 203,153
- 2003 - 186,627
- 2004 - 181,336

The Economic Impact of Snowmobiling:
- United States - $20 billion annually
- Canada - $6 billion annually
- Scandinavia - $1.4 billion Swedish Crowns annually

Over 85,000 fulltime jobs are generated by the snowmobile industry in North America. Those jobs are involved in manufacturing, dealerships and tourism related businesses.

The average age of a snowmobile owner is 41 years old.

The average annual household income for snowmobilers is $70,000.

The average snowmobiler rides their snowmobile 990 miles per year.

The average snowmobiler spends $4,000 each year on snowmobile-related recreation, tourism and products.

75% of snowmobile owners are married. The average snowmobile family has 0.8 children living in the home with them.

65% of the snowmobilers usually trailer their snowmobiles to go ride. 35% either snowmobile from their primary residence or have a vacation home where they keep and use their snowmobiles.

Approximately 80% of snowmobilers use their snowmobile for trail riding and touring in marked and groomed trails. 20% of snowmobilers use their snowmobile for work and ice fishing.

Snowmobilers spend on the average 7.2 nights per snowmobile season in a motel/resort room while snowmobiling.

Snowmobilers are caring neighbors, they raised over $3 million for charity during the 2003/2004 season.

Approximately 17% of all snowmobilers are part of the Senior Circuit - 60 years or older and 37% of all snowmobilers are 50 years or older.

There are over 225,000 miles of groomed and marked snowmobile trails in North America that have been developed by volunteer clubs working with local government and private land owners.

There are over 3000 snowmobile clubs worldwide, involved in trail grooming and charity fund raising and family activities.

There are 40 registered non-profit associations representing snowmobilers in the U.S., Canada and Scandinavia.

Snowmobiling is great exercise that brings people outdoors to interact with nature and each other. It is an invigorating life-style activity that is great for stress release and good mental health.

Snowmobiling is a great family life-style activity. It is an activity that keeps parents and kids together. Historically individuals who snowmobile at a young age continue to snowmobile with their parents and continue in the life-style activity throughout their lives, sharing great experiences as a family. In many winter regions, snowmobiling is simply the main form of winter outdoor recreation and in some cases the main method of transportation available.

The use of snowmobiles in National Parks is controlled, organized and regulated by Federal Law Enforcement. The snowmobiling occurs on roads groomed and marked for snowmobiling, the same roadways used by recreational vehicles, cars, trucks and busses. Snowmobiles are NOT used as off-road vehicles in National Parks such as Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain and Grand Teton.

On US National Forest Land, most of the trails used by snowmobiles are on groomed roads used by summer recreationists. There are also secondary and seasonal roads within the forests used by snowmobilers. These roads are groomed and marked by volunteers who work closely with the local US Forest Service staff in maintaining and managing those areas.

The International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association has an active web site. The URL is www.snowmobile.org.

The manufacturers have always been actively involved in promoting safe riding behavior while snowmobiling. Over one million brochures, decals and hundreds of thousands of posters and safety videos have been distributed free of charge to snowmobile enthusiasts throughout the world. Safety trainers, enforcement officers, Chambers of Commerce and more use safety materials provided by the manufacturers through the Safe Riders! You make snowmobiling safe™safety campaign.