Scenic Safaris — Local services in Jackson

Be very careful. In heavy, ungroomed snow, this tour is no way appropriate for beginners. I am glad that my family and I got out of Yellowstone earlier this week with no broken limbs. This is not an exaggeration. This company assured us that the tour we booked (private, guided) was appropriate for people with no previous snowmobiling experience. On this day, this was demonstrably not true. I “rolled” my snowmobile multiple times, and I witnessed at least 8 similar events during the course of our trip to Old Faithful and back to the south entrance of Yellowstone. I also saw multiple snow coaches stuck with people on board in heavy snow. In every instance, the guides worked together to help people who were stuck or pinned. The guides were unfailingly patient, helpful, and diligent. No complaints there.

To be clear, the heavy snow had not all just fallen - it had fallen over multiple days, and the road taken by both coaches and snowmobiles had not been groomed. What this causes is deep ruts and uneven snow - think 3+ feet on either side as you’re jouncing down a rutted, V-shaped path you can barely see at 30+ miles per hour. As a beginner, is very, very easy under these conditions to misjudge a turn, run your sled into the wrong rut, allow one ski to ride too high up on one side of the “V,” and simply not shift your weight fast enough, and to quickly find your snowmobile tipping over on top of you. My daughter and I were literally pinned under the vehicle in several feet of snow 3 times on our trip. Each time our guide helped us out, a few times with the help of other guides. Again, the guides are fantastic – but they can only react after the fact.

The responsibility for grooming the snow in the road lies with the parks service. Today, the road was almost entirely ungroomed (an infrequent occurrence according to our guide). Parks service failure, it seems. BUT, it seems to me that the responsibility to assess the conditions of the road and send or not send tours, or provide warnings that ungroomed conditions exist and therefore the tour is not appropriate for beginners - lies with the tour operator. It would be like a snorkel operator dropping you and your kids in an area with heavy currents, or the ski mountain operator leaving trails open that have hidden obstacles. Do you have responsibility, sure! But you (I) would think that you could trust the folks providing the tour to give you an adequate assessment of the hazards, and at least make an attempt to keep you from getting in over your head. Be aware – there is no ski patrol in the snowmobile tour industry – nobody is checking if the terrain is safe and appropriate for beginners! This tour operator, and what I saw today tells me they are not alone - will not cancel the tour if dangerous conditions exist, nor will they warn you - they will simply expect the guide to make it work. But if you’ve never snowmobiled before, and judging by what I saw today, perhaps even if you have some experience, that may not be enough to avoid “rolling” your 650 pound machine. Sure, for some enthusiasts that’s no big deal – happens all the time, snow is soft! Newbies take note – make sure having a machine up against your legs in deep snow so you can’t move, and waiting for some kind, patient guide to pull it off of you and whomever is riding with you - is your idea of a fun time. It was no picnic for me and my group. Your introduction to the vehicle is a 3 minute introduction to the throttle, the brake, and the heated seats. It is not even remotely enough for conditions such as we rode in today – heavy snow, ungroomed conditions. And we had no idea of the conditions before we were underway. So make sure you know the conditions yourself (how, you ask? Beats me!) or find yourself another excursion.

I saw two ambulances heading into the park as we were leaving. I’d say we were fortunate not to need...

I really, really wanted to love this company's services, but despite trying so hard to make it work, it just didn't. We reserved a Yellowstone Snowmobile tour with Scenic. Reservations and scheduling processes were efficient but impersonable as we never spoke with anyone, but had our date and time secured via web and text communications. On the date of tour, the weather turned out to be far less than desirable sub-zero temperatures, and we still pressed on. However, after we were picked up (which did not go smoothly, in fact, our driver/guide seemed super annoyed that his gps/address directions weren't on point) the driver/guide, Anthony, "prepped" our group with statements that it would be an incredibly challenging day due to weather and due to the fact that too many inexperienced tourists were taking Yellowstone snowmobiling tours and unable to keep up with sub-zero temperatures at 40 miles an hour and if "you couldn't keep up you were a quitter" who seemingly may be left behind in the wilderness. My group (some of whom were over 60) were extremely concerned that this "tour" was not going to go well. Therefore, when we arrived at Scenic's office to gear up we asked for alternative dates or tours for which accommodations were promised, but never delivered. The driver/tour guide, Anthony, was not kind, patient, or service oriented. However, the manager at the office, Bridger, was very understanding and supportive. He actually, and to the company's credit, immediately refunded the very large sum we had already paid and promised that their tour/customer service rep would contact us the following day to schedule alternative arrangements. The MOST disappointing part of our experience is the fact we made very clear we wanted to do business and participate with Scenic, but the company NEVER followed through with Bridger's promise (in writing) that they would contact us and schedule a different tour. Because people are not permitted to individually drive through Yellowstone without a tour company at this time of year (January) we flew 3K miles and will not get to see Yellowstone. I very much wish this had gone differently, but Scenic really let us down. If you want to do tours in WY and MT, go with "Old Faithful Snowmobile Tours" not Scenic. Even after the upset with the disappointing guide, Anthony, we gave Bridger and the company the benefit of the doubt and relied on some alternative accommodations that never happened. I called, called, and called after never receiving the promised follow-up call and then drove to their offices just before closing (at 3 p.m.) to find no one there, no one answering calls, and no one returning the multiple messages left. We are so, so, so disappointed and heartbroken that we will miss seeing a renowned National Park due to this company's lack of...

I recently had an experience with Scenic Safari that I would like to share. While the snowmobile tour itself was an exciting adventure, the company's practices were less than satisfactory.

Initially, our tour of 6 snowmobiles was scheduled to take us to the Yellowstone Canyon. However, a day prior to the trip, the company contacted us and informed us that they wanted to change the destination to Old Faithful or offer us a refund. Unfortunately, this was not a feasible option for us as the snowmobile tour was the primary reason for our visit. I found this sudden change in plan to be rather unprofessional and concerning.

Moreover, the communication with this company was almost non-existent. I found it extremely difficult to get in touch with them after making our payment, and they continued to use the pandemic as an excuse. Despite reaching out through phone calls, email and the "contact us" option, we received no response from the company.

On the day of the tour, we were pressured into purchasing insurance without being informed that we were still liable for the first $750 of any damage. To our dismay, we incurred minor damage to two of the six snowmobiles, and the company tried to charge us $1500 on our credit card. The damage could is probably less than $50. The front desk person, Mandy, is totally useless, rude and unprofessional.

Our tour finished at 3:40PM even though it was suppose last until 6PM. This shows we had the time to go to the Canyon but the tour guide was not willing.

Additionally, the suits provided to us were old and smelly.

Overall, I recommend choosing a different company for your snowmobile tour. While the tour itself can be a real adventure, the shady practices and poor communication of this company make it an...