SnoRiders is built around the people who ride, explore, volunteer, wrench, advocate, and keep this sport alive. In 2025, our readers flocked to stories that highlighted exactly that—passionate club leaders, inspiring ambassadors, unforgettable destinations, and the shared love of snowmobiling that ties our communities together.
As we wrap up the year, we’re celebrating the Top 10 stories that resonated most with you. Here’s a look back at the SnoRiders articles that drew the biggest readership and showcased the very best of Canadian sled culture.
- Photo courtesy Megan Dawn
1.) Capturing the soul of snowmobiling
Megan Dawn has spent more than a decade behind the lens, turning fleeting moments into stories that last. After a successful career as a wedding and lifestyle photographer, she felt the pull of something closer to home—powersports. A lifelong rider of sleds, quads, and dirt bikes, Megan saw an opening to bring her editorial eye into a world she already loved. Instead of just shooting action, she began documenting the people, emotions, and communities in the powersports world.
- Photo courtesy Daine Elliott
2.) Daine Elliott’s lifelong obsession with snowmobiling
Snowmobiler Daine Elliott (@daineelliott99 on Instagram) has spent decades chasing deep powder and pushing the limits of his machine. Originally from Creston, B.C., he developed a passion for the sport at a young age, trading hockey skates for handlebars and never looking back. Over the years, he’s tackled everything from local backcountry terrain to high-stakes competitions like the World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climbs in Jackson, Wyoming. Through it all, FXR has been a key supporter, sponsoring Elliott since 2014 and continuing into the 2025 season.
- Photo courtesy Chad Chomlack
3.) Staying safe in the backcountry: Expert tips from Marshall Dempster
Backcountry snowmobiling is thrilling, but it comes with serious risks—and few understand those risks like Marshall Dempster. A veteran avalanche forecaster, educator, and guide, Dempster brings decades of experience on skis and sleds alike. From his early days in ski patrol to becoming a certified snowmobile-specific avalanche instructor, he’s dedicated his career to teaching riders how to safely navigate the mountains while enjoying the freedom and speed that snowmobiling offers.
- Photo courtesy the Northland Trailblazers
4.) Grooming trails and growing community
For over five decades, the Northland Trailblazers Snowmobile Club has been at the heart of northern snowmobiling, creating a strong community of riders, volunteers, and outdoor enthusiasts. With a mission to maintain trails, support safety education, and host events that bring people together, the club has grown into a vital part of the region’s winter recreation.
The Trailblazers continue to expand their reach—maintaining 500 kilometres of trails, managing remote-access cabins, and advocating for public land access.
- Photo courtesy Chad Chomlack
5.) Skill, safety and sisterhood
Nadine Overwater has spent more than two decades carving her own track through the backcountry. From her childhood on an Alberta farm, ripping around fields on an old Olympic, to running access laps for snowboard missions in the early 2000s, her journey into mountain snowmobiling has always been powered by curiosity, grit and a deep love for winter terrain.
When she finally bought her own sled in 2007, it opened a door that would eventually lead to guiding, avalanche forecasting, and becoming one of the most respected leaders in the sport.
- Photo courtesy Brandon Shaw
6.) Chasing fresh snow and building strong riders
Brandon Shaw grew up on dirt bikes and ATVs, but it wasn’t until his teens that snowmobiling took hold—and eventually became the highlight of his winters.
Today, after six years of backcountry riding and a steady rise within the sledding community, he has become a familiar face on the mountains around Sicamous and beyond.
- Photo courtesy Brendon Fidek
7.) Top 10 places to snowmobile in Saskatchewan
With over 10,000 kilometres of well-marked, fully connected trails, Saskatchewan offers snowmobiling for every type of rider—from quick afternoon jaunts to epic multi-day adventures.
The trails wind through river valleys, rolling aspen parkland, and dense boreal forests, with 66 snowmobile clubs maintaining warm-up shelters along the way.
- Photo courtesy David Simenoff
8.) Turbo for life: David Simenoff pushes the limits
For David Simenoff, snowmobiling isn’t just a winter pastime—it’s a way of life. Growing up in Penticton, B.C., he was introduced to the sport at the young age of three, thanks to his father’s passion for sledding. Ever since that first ride, he’s been hooked, chasing powder across the Monashee and Coast Mountains and always on the lookout for the next great adventure.
Whether it’s carving through tight tree lines or exploring deep backcountry terrain, David thrives on the challenge and excitement that snowmobiling offers.
- Photo courtesy the Swan Hills Snow Goers
9.) Club Profile: Swan Hills Snow-Goers
Swan Hills is one of Alberta’s most desirable destinations to go snowmobiling, with varied terrain and seemingly endless trails to explore.
Don Kelm, trail co-ordinator of the Swan Hills Snow-Goers, outlined everything snowmobilers need to know to sled in this beautiful part of Canada.
- Photo courtesy Dan Howard
10.) Relishing the freedom of every ride
Alaska-born snowmobiler Dan Howard has been riding since he was three years old, when a Christmas morning gift of a Kitty Cat set the wheels in motion—literally—for a lifetime of adventure.
