This two-hour morning tour puts you on a snowmobile and sends you across the open meadows and foothills of Saddleback Ranch, just outside Steamboat Springs. Guides lead you along groomed trails through ranch land, climbing to viewpoints over the Yampa Valley and the surrounding peaks. It suits first-timers and returning riders alike, with time to open up the throttle on the straightaways and slow down for the scenery.

Saddleback is a working cattle ranch, and the ride traces terrain the operation uses year-round, which gives the outing a sense of place you don't get from a trailhead parking lot. The morning slot means fresh tracks and cold, clear light across the snowpack.

The tour runs in winter only, when there's enough snow on the ground. Dress in layers and plan for mountain cold; the ranch sits at elevation and the wind picks up on the open meadows.