In the past two decades, snowmobile registrations in Utah have edged lower even as the state’s population has grown by 77 percent, according to a new economic-impact study by Utah State University.
The average age of Utah snowmobile owners has soared to 54, yet by all accounts more people than ever are riding the state’s famous snow found in the Wasatch, Uintah and Bear River mountains.
“The number of registered snowmobile owners within the state has not been keeping pace with population growth, suggesting either snowmobiling is declining in popularity, or that as aging snowmobilers quit the activity, they are not being replaced by younger riders,” wrote Jordan Smith, director of USU’s Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, in the report commissioned by the Utah Snowmobile Association.