VIDEO: Inside The Crane’s Snowmobile Museum

Many snowmobilers appreciate the sport’s colorful history, but few people celebrate it on the level of Paul Crane of Lancaster, New Hampshire.

Crane, a 2015 inductee into the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame, has a long history in the sport. Longer, in fact, than just about anybody on the U.S. side of the border, as he reportedly was the first U.S. resident to ever ride a Ski-Doo snowmobile! That set the hook, and Crane has been involved on pretty much every level of the sport ever since.

The most visual display of that dedication is found a half-block off of Main Street in scenic Lancaster. Tucked neatly behind an auto parts store, the large Crane’s Snowmobile Museum has more than 130 snowmobiles expertly displayed, creating a true celebration of the glory days when literally hundreds of brands of snowmobiles were produced. Crane also has about 40 more classic and vintage machines in storage elsewhere ready to rotate into the display.

It’s definitely one of those bucket-list visits for hardcore sledheads, but if you can’t get to Lancaster a recent video posted on Youtube provides a sneak peek. The 12-minute video from Blizzard Ridge Films takes viewers through the museum, where Crane shares some insight on his history, the machines in the museum and the Eastern Snowmobile Racing Hall of Fame that is now a part of the museum display. It’s worth the watch, and posted below.

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