Swan Mountain Snowmobiling, a sister company of Swan Mountain Outfitters, announced last week it had purchased J&L Snowmobile Rentals, a long-time operator of snowmobile tours and rentals in the Columbia Falls and Whitefish area.

J&L was previously owned by Pat Clanton, noted Swan Mountain co-owner Aubrie Lorona.

Swan Mountain runs snowmobile tours and rentals from its location in Columbia Falls just off Railroad Street. It offers tours on Desert Mountain, Canyon Creek and in the Crane Mountain area of the Swan River District.

They purchased 13 sleds from J&L as well as other equipment. J&L’s permit to operate on the Forest Service was also transferred to Swan Mountain, Lorona noted. She said the permits can’t actually be bought and sold, they have to be approved for transfer by the Forest Service, which was part of the due diligence of the sale.

“J&L Snowmobile Rentals has been a great business partner over the years and we wish them the best in their future endeavors. The purchase of this business will help us to continue to provide the public with fun and exciting ways to explore our public lands,” co-owner Erik Lorona said in a release.

Aubrie noted that since the pandemic, there’s been a surge in popularity of winter sports and snowmobiling, as people travel domestically and look to do different things and get back to nature.

“It (the pandemic) made people want to reconnect,” she said.

There was some worry that the border closure with Canada would hurt business, but so far, Americans have been filling the gaps. Companies have worked hard in recent years to promote winter recreation, too.

Swan Mountain has a staff of about a dozen people, including seven guides and a full-time maintenance person as well as office and booking staff.

The sale now gives the company a fleet of 40 sleds and exclusive use of the mountains east of the Whitefish Divide. Other snowmobile outfits run west of the Whitefish Divide out of Olney.

She said the clients typically take a snowmobile trip as a break from skiing at area resorts, but even that’s starting to change a little bit, as people just come for snowmobiling and other winter experiences.

The trip to the summit of Big Mountain is the most popular, as the trail is groomed more often and people can warm up at the summit house, she noted.

Learn more about the company at: https://www.glaciersnowmobile.com/