Snowmobile museums across North America celebrate the development of the snowmobile. But these snow machines may not be what you expect! Early snowmobiles used many different designs before arriving at the sleds snowmobilers enjoy today.
Chart of the Earliest Snow Machines
How much do you know about the evolution of the snowmobile? These museums take you from these early snow machines to the 100+ brands of snowmobile heydays to today’s sleds.
Snowmobile Factory Museums
Today, North America has two best-selling snowmobile brands, Ski-Doo and Polaris. They both have manufacturer-developed museums. The third popular brand, Arctic Cat, doesn’t have a museum.
Ski-Doo Museum: J. Armand Bombardier Museum of Ingenuity
The J. Armand Bombardier Museum of Ingenuity is in Valcourt, Quebec. The inventor’s original shop is part of the museum, so you can see his humble beginnings.
But that’s just the start. This museum is about far more than technology. It’s a highly interactive celebration of J. Armand’s life and inventions. Visitors can star in a Ski-Doo ad, fly an airplane simulator, even design future vehicles!
What’s in the museum? Around 6,500 artifacts, 200,000+ photos, technical drawings, even videos fill the 13,239 square ft (1230 sq. m). Be sure to check out the walls, too. You’ll see 1600+ advertisements!
Even non-snowmobilers will find interesting exhibits in the Ski-Doo Museum. Interested in sustainable mobility? See it here. Want to learn more about assembly lines? Got that too. Like motion-activated projections. You’ll find lots of fun ones!
My favorite exhibit? Jean-Luc Bombardier’s 1968 Ski-Doo. He drove it to the North Pole with the Plaisted Expedition. Even the gear he wore on that -70 degree, 825 mile (1328 km) ride is on display.
👉 Read a museum review at: Museum of Ingenuity: Ski-Doo Snowmobile Museum in Valcourt, Quebec or visit the museum online. Location: 1001 Av. J.-A.-Bombardier, Valcourt, QC.
Polaris Experience Center
The Polaris Experience Center is a museum that sets out to bring you into the thrills of riding Polaris snowmobiles. The museum is located next to the factory. So, when you visit, be sure to try to fit in a factory tour. It’s extremely well done with a knowledgeable guide and headsets, so you don’t miss a thing.
My favorite display? The Polaris Thrill team of the late ’60s and early ’70s. I would have loved to see those 373 Chargers drive around the 24 foot loop! The loop is on display outside the museum, so everyone can see it.
Some of the museum’s most thrilling pieces of featured history include:
- Edgar Hetteen’s 1200 mile journey across Alaska with three Sno-Traveler Polaris snowmobiles
- Starfire Kids and the Midnight Blue Express
👉 Read a museum review at: Polaris Experience Center: Polaris Snowmobile Museum in Roseau, Minnesota or visit the museum online. Location: Suite #2, 205 5th Ave. SW, Roseau, Minnesota.
Snowmobile Museums We’ve Loved
There are many great snowmobile museums in North America. Some included here have dedicated snowmobile collections, while others cover various historical aspects with a good dedicated snow machine collection.
Snowmobile Hall of Fame and Museum
The Snowmobile Hall of Fame and Museum is a top Wisconsin destination for everyone interested in snowmobile racing. Displays rotate at the year-round museum, so we’ve stopped here frequently.
See the sleds raced by some of history’s greatest drivers and teams. Machines range from The Boss Cat III 1970s speed machine to Blair “Superman” Morgan’s 7c Ski-Doo to Mark Maki’s watercross winner.
👉 Read a museum review at the Snowmobile Hall of Fame and Museum or visit the museum’s website. Visit virtually with YouTube and the Snowmobile Hall of Fame Tour. Location: 1246 Sled World Blvd, St Germain, WI.
World Snowmobile Headquarters Museum
The World Snowmobile Headquarters Museum is situated in Eagle River, Wisconsin, which is home to the annual Snowmobile World’s Championship race. In fact, the museum is right next to the Eagle River Derby Complex and Track. With display space for around 70 sleds, there’s always something new to see and learn when you visit as machines rotate.
It’s another one of those museums we have to stop by whenever we’re within 100 miles! We often get our snowmobile “fix” there summers, as it’s open year-round.
Race fans will love the history of the Derby, the racers and teams who’ve won world championships, along with information on snowmobile organizations from the local to international.
👉 Read a museum review at: World Snowmobile Headquarters Museum or visit their website. Location: 1521 N Railroad St., Eagle River, Wisconsin.
Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum
The Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum is in Michigan’s popular Upper Peninsula. Situated in Naubinway, on Lake Michigan’s shoreline, this museum is popular year-round. It has a collection of 200+ machines with detailed information and lots of memorabilia. Rare machines include the Snow Ghia (first produced in Italy), Wheel Horse, and Polar Bear.
We spent an afternoon going through the collection of mainly trail riding machines and the memorabilia. There’s lots of info with each one and friendly volunteers to answer questions.
👉 Read a museum review at: Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum: Naubinway, Michigan or visit their website. Take a virtual tour on YouTube with the video, Tour a collection of RARE and Vintage Snowmobiles with an Expert Guide. Location: W11660 US-2, Naubinway, MI.
Vilas Historical Museum
Sayner, Wisconsin, is home to the Vilas Historical Museum. This general museum has a diverse collection, including a number of snowmobiles. They range from Evinrude to Fox Trac to Ski-Doo. However, we visited to see the Eliason snowmobiles. The collection includes all of the different Eliason models, including the first Eliason motor toboggan ever built.
👉 Read a museum review at Vilas Historical Museum or the museum’s website. Take a virtual YouTube tour with the Vilas Historical Museum video. Location: 2889 Wiconsin Highway 155, Sayner, Wisconsin.
Miracle of America Museum
The Miracle of America Museum is a heritage open-air museum in Polson, Montana. It has an enormous, diverse collection that ranges from Americana artifacts to a steam tractor to a full track sno crawler used in Glacier National Park. Its snowmobile collection has snow planes, snowmobiles, and even snow tractors.
👉 Read a museum review at Miracle of America Museum or visit the museum’s website. Location: 36094 Memory Lane in Polson, Montana.
Sweeten Snowmobile Museum
The Sweeten Snowmobile Museum is a private collection we were lucky to see in Lindon, Utah. There are a wide range of vintage sleds ranging from Scorpion to Rupp to Sno Flite.
👉 CONTACT TO ARRANGE A VISIT: Learn more on the Sweeten Snowmobile Museum Facebook page. Location: 6 S 400 W, Lindon, Utah.
Snowmobile Museums on our Bucket List
While we’ve visited lots of snowmobile museums, there are still a few on our bucket list. A number of them grew out of private collections, so are only open for visiting by making prior arrangements.
Crane’s Snowmobile Museum
We missed this Lancaster, NH, snowmobile museum on our East Coast tour. So, it’s still on our must-see list. The collection has over 100 vintage snowmobiles, with no duplicates on display. It’s home to an annual vintage snowmobile show and the Eastern Snowmobile Hall of Fame.
👉 CONTACT TO ARRANGE A VISIT: Location – 172 Main Street, Lancaster, NH. Learn more on the website.
Gottschalk Family Antique Snowmobile Museum
The Gottschalk Family Antique Snowmobile Museum started out with a John Deere tractor collection (it has 60 restored tractors). However, the boys soon expanded their collection passion to include Harley Davidson motor cycles and snowmobiles. Their collection includes 300+ snowmobiles from 100+ different companies.
👉 CONTACT TO ARRANGE A VISIT: Gottschalk Family Antique Snowmobile Museum. Learn more at Farm Show Magazine. Location: 73078 CSAH 19, Kimball, MN.
Take a virtual tour on YouTube: Gottschalk Family Snowmobile Museum Part 1. Vintage racers, home made sleds and more
Cochrane Classic Vintage Snowmobile Museum
Ontario’s biggest snowmobile museum is in the town of Cochrane, where Ontario’s first snowmobile dealership was established. It has around 100 vintage sleds and an archive of snowmobile memorabilia.
👉 VISIT: 1 Drury Park Road, Cochrane, Ontario. Visit the website.
Northern Timber Cruisers, Inc. Museum
The Northern Timber Cruisers, Inc. Museum is in Millinocket, Maine. It’s situated in the clubhouse and has curators who were involved in the early history of snowmobiling in the area.
👉 CONTACT TO ARRANGE A VISIT: Snowmobile Museum
Antique Snowmobile Museum of Indiana
The Antique Snowmobile Museum of Indiana is the hobby of Dan Blaney,an attorney with a law firm in Morocco, Indiana. John Deere is the featured sled.
👉 CONTACT TO ARRANGE A VISIT: See the Newton County website and Antique Snowmobile Museum of Indiana Facebook page. Location: 124 E. State St., Morocco, Indiana.
New Hampshire Snowmobile Museum Association
The New Hampshire Snowmobile Museum is a state-sponsored, public-private partnership museum in Concord, NH. It has a collection of 80+ snow machines and a large collection of memorabilia. They have a number of winter events.
👉 CONTACT TO ARRANGE A VISIT: Check the website for details.
Old Montana Prison & Auto Museum
The Old Montana Prison & Auto Museum is located in Deer Lodge, Montana. The complex of five museums has a small snowmobile collection. However, the museum was listed by USA Today as one of the country’s Top 10 Car Museums.
👉 VISIT SEASONALLY: Check the website for details. Location: Museum Complex at 1106 Main St. Deer Lodge, Montana.
Volo Museum Vintage Snow Machines
The Volo Museum is a museum of mechanical marvels situated on 75 acres in Volo, Illinois. It’s home to some rare — and fascinating — snow machines from the early beginnings of snowmobiling. See the Arctic Arrow Rocket Sled, 10,000 horsepower, rocket-powered sled that hit 241 mph; the 1962 Trail-A-Sled Scorpion Snow Plane, and others!
👉 VISIT: Learn more on the website. Location: 27582 Volo Village Road, Volo, Illinois.
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