The short version
Two Top is the ride people mean when they say they went snowmobiling at West Yellowstone. It is a 28-mile loop beginning and ending in town, gaining around 2,000 feet to the top of Two Top Mountain on the Continental Divide, which here is also the Montana and Idaho state line.
It is a designated National Recreation Trail on the Custer Gallatin National Forest. That matters for one practical reason: it is outside Yellowstone National Park, so none of the park's rules apply. No commercial guide, no lottery permit, no BAT certification.
The snow ghosts
The reason the trail is famous. Constant wind drives supercooled moisture onto the trees near the summit, which freezes on contact and builds outward into thick white rime. By midwinter the trees on the upper mountain are unrecognisable shapes, and riding between them is the closest thing to another planet that Montana offers.
They need cold and wind, so they are a January and February phenomenon more than a December one. By late March the ridge is often bare.
The view
On a clear day the top gives you the Centennial Mountains in Idaho, the Grand Tetons standing up on the southern horizon, and the Yellowstone plateau to the east.
The rules, which are short
- Trails in the West Yellowstone area are open 1 December to 31 March.
- There are more than 135 miles of groomed trail, starting south of Electric Street, west of Iris Street and north of Dunraven Street in town.
- The speed limit on groomed Forest Service trails is 45 mph.
- All snowmobiles must be registered.
- Stay on designated trails through the restricted area.
The West Yellowstone Chamber publishes a daily trail report. Read it before you set off rather than after: grooming and conditions on the upper mountain change fast.
How it compares to riding in the park
Riding inside Yellowstone means a guide or a lottery permit, a BAT-certified machine and a convoy on a groomed road at low speed. What you get for it is the park in winter: bison on the road, Old Faithful in the steam and silence.
Two Top is the opposite trip. Nobody is checking your permit, the powder fields alongside the trail are open, and you go at your own pace. If you have more than a couple of days, do both: they are not substitutes for one another.
Renting
West Yellowstone is a snowmobile town in the way a ski resort is a ski town, and rental outfits line the main streets. Bibs, boots and a helmet are usually included; goggles often are not. A forest rental is materially cheaper than a guided park day, because you are paying for the machine rather than the machine plus a guide.
Two Top Snowmobile Trail, West Yellowstone: The Ride to the Snow Ghosts FAQs
About 28 miles (27.8 on the National Recreation Trail record) as a loop, starting and finishing in West Yellowstone, with roughly 2,000 feet of elevation gain to the top of Two Top Mountain.
No park permit and no guide. Two Top is on the Custer Gallatin National Forest, outside Yellowstone National Park, so the park's guide requirement and BAT rules do not apply. Your snowmobile must be registered.
Trees coated in thick wind-driven rime ice until they lose their shape entirely. Constant wind at the top of Two Top drives supercooled moisture onto the trees, where it freezes on contact and builds outward.
January and February. They need sustained cold and wind, so December is often too early and by late March the ridge is frequently bare.
1 December to 31 March. More than 135 miles are professionally groomed, with trailheads in town south of Electric Street, west of Iris Street and north of Dunraven Street.
The Continental Divide itself, which here is the Montana and Idaho border, plus the Centennial Mountains in Idaho, the Grand Teton range to the south and the Yellowstone plateau to the east on a clear day.
Yes. The worked day-by-day plan is Yellowstone in Winter: 4-Day Snowmobile & Snowcoach Itinerary (4 Days), with the permits, the stays and the drive times already sorted. Tell us your dates and we will put it together for you and confirm what is genuinely open on those days. Asking is free: no card, no deposit, and nothing is held until you say yes.
