Thursday, December 11, 2014

Certain vehicles no longer allowed on snowmobile trails


The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reminds snowmobilers that only snowmobiles can operate on the state’s grant-in-aid trail system. Due to a change this year in the way a snowmobile is legally defined, certain vehicles are no longer allowed on the trail.
The new definition of a snowmobile no longer includes all-terrain vehicles (ATV) modified with aftermarket ski and track kits, said 1st Lt. Pat Znajda, DNR enforcement district supervisor in Baudette.
 
“The legal definition of a snowmobile is a self-propelled vehicle originally manufactured and designed for travel on snow or ice steered by skis or runners,” he said.

Snowmobiles do not include vehicles equipped with aftermarket ski and track configurations such as an ATV, an off-highway motorcycle, an off-road vehicle, a mini truck, a utility task vehicle, vans with tracks and skis and some bombardiers.

The grant-in-aid trail program is a cooperative effort between the DNR, local governments, local snowmobile organizations, and private landowners who provide the majority of Minnesota’s 22,000 miles of snowmobile trails.

Funded through snowmobile registration and snowmobile state trail sticker fees and gas taxes, the grant-in-aid program helps local groups and clubs develop and maintain trails. A snowmobile state trail sticker or a registration/trail sticker combination decal is required when operating on grant-in-aid trails.

Minnesota’s state and grant-in-aid snowmobile trails are open now through the end of March.
For more information, see the snowmobile laws, rules and regulations handbook at www.dnr.state.mn.us/regulations/snowmobile/index.html.