Old Sled Zone

Welcome to the wonderful world of vintage snowmobiles

It's sometimes unfathomable the changes that have occurred in the snowmobiling industry since the first sleds came out. Snow machines have evolved from pretty basic models to today's highly specialized units carefully designed for particular terrain and purpose. For many sledders, there is great nostalgia in those early snowmobiles, and older riders have fond memories of family time on sleds when they were young. That evocation of times gone by seems to be, at least in part, why we find the value in vintage snowmobiles and love to see them brought back to good-as-new condition.

An old Scorpion Stinger 400 sled, spotted in a rural Alberta backyard.
Old Sled Zone

Old Sled Sighting — early 1970’s Scorpion Stinger 400

The Scorpion snowmobile line was once very popular, ranking in the top three of best-selling sleds - outselling even Polaris.

An old 1960's Ski-Doo Olympic.
Old Sled Zone

Old Sled Sighting – early 1960’s Ski-Doo Olympic

Trish Oosterhoff spotted this vintage sled while out exploring the backcountry around Smithers, B.C.

Ski-Doo alpine snowmobile.
Old Sled Zone

The Return of Old Sled Sighting—Vintage Ski Doo Alpine

This week the Old Sled Zone feature comes from Ray Marak of Smithers.

Restored Ski-Doo Elite snowmobile.
Old Sled Zone

Summer Rewind—The best of Old Sled Zone Sightings: 1970’s Ski-Doo Elite

From the dozens and dozens of Old Sled Sighting posts we have selected the best by reader reach.

Snowmobiles belonging to Jeff Tanach and Rick Rivers from St. Andrew's, Manitoba.
Old Sled Zone

Summer Rewind—The best of Old Sled Zone Sightings: Raider Double Eagle and Trail Roamer

From the dozens and dozens of Old Sled Sighting posts we have selected the best by reader reach.

An old beauty - a Yamaha 340.
Old Sled Zone

Summer Rewind—The best of Old Sled Zone Sightings: 70’s Yamaha Enticer ET Deluxe

From the dozens and dozens of Old Sled Sighting posts we have selected the best by reader reach.

A rusting, forgotten Arctic Cat Pantera snowmobile.
Old Sled Zone

Summer Rewind—The best of Old Sled Zone Sightings: 1970’s Arctic Cat Pantera

From the dozens and dozens of Old Sled Sighting posts we have selected the best by reader reach.

A Polaris Autoboggan—
Old Sled Zone

Summer Rewind—The best of Old Sled Zone Sightings: the Polaris Autoboggan

From the dozens and dozens of Old Sled Sighting posts we have selected the best by reader reach.

The Herter's snowmobile was available via direct mail from the company's catalogue – shipped direct to your door in a wooden crate.
Old Sled Zone

Summer Rewind—The best of Old Sled Zone Sightings: Herter’s snowmobile

From the dozens and dozens of Old Sled Sighting posts we have selected the best by reader reach.

A vintage Johnson Rampage spotted at the Cranbrook Snowmobile Club's rally in February 2017.
Old Sled Zone

Summer Rewind—The best of Old Sled Zone Sightings: 1970’s Johnson Rampage

From the dozens and dozens of Old Sled Sighting posts we have selected the best by reader reach.

For John Samolis, all the hard work of restoring his 1968 Herters snowmobile paid off with a first win at a vintage sled show.
Old Sled Zone

Summer Rewind—The best of Old Sled Zone Sightings: ‘68 Herters

From the dozens and dozens of Old Sled Sighting posts we have selected the best by reader reach.

A 1970's kiddie-sized Sno Cub by Yardman.
Old Sled Zone

Summer Rewind—The best of Old Sled Zone Sightings: 1970’s Sno Cub

From the dozens and dozens of Old Sled Sighting posts we have selected the best by reader reach.

A collector's favourite, the unique Yamaha Inviter.
Old Sled Zone

Summer Rewind—The best of Old Sled Zone Sightings: 1984 Yamaha Inviter

From the dozens and dozens of Old Sled Sighting posts we have selected the best by reader reach.

Vintage snowmobile owners prepare for the Canadian Power Toboggan Championships parade.
Old Sled Zone

Summer Rewind—The Best of Old Sled Zone Sightings: Canadian Power Toboggan Championships

From the dozens and dozens of Old Sled Sighting posts we have selected the best by reader reach.

The original power machine, this all-Canadian Sno-Jet sled still looks ready to roll.
Old Sled Zone

Old Sled Sighting: 1974 “Big Blue” Sno-Jet

We stumbled across this Big Blue 1974 Sno-Jet literally sitting in front of someone’s front steps this week.

A late 1970's Ski-Doo Blizzard 5500.
Old Sled Zone

Old Sled Sighting: 1979 (80’s) Ski-Doo Blizzard 5500

Ski-Doo’s impressive line-up for 1979 featured three Blizzards: the 5500, the 7500 Plus and the Blizzard 9500 Plus.

Two vintage beauties: the Ski-Doo Alpine and the Ski-Doo 340.
Old Sled Zone

Old Sled Sighting: Single-Ski Ski-Doo Alpine—“The World’s Slowest Snowmobile”

We dip back into Doug Williamson’s vault of great vintage snowmobile photos from the Cranbrook Snowmobile Club Vintage Rally last February.

An Arctic Cat Panther.
Old Sled Zone

Old Sled Sighting: Late 1970’s Arctic Cat Panther

The Arctic Cat Panther was often referred to as the Cadillac of snowmobiles in its heyday.

A vintage Ski-Doo Citation sled.
Old Sled Zone

Old Sled Sighting—Return of the Rat Sled: Late 1970’s Ski-Doo Citation 300 (?)

Ski-Doo worked hard to squeeze lots of amenities into this little machine and keep the price tag low as well.

A vintage Johnson Rampage spotted at the Cranbrook Snowmobile Club's rally in February 2017.
Old Sled Zone

Old Sled Sighting: 1970’s Johnson Rampage

A bit hard to find but the little Johnson Rampage machines have enough personality to make the search worthwhile.