Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum of the Upper Peninsula

UP Matters The Top of The Lake Snowmobile Museum | Naubinway, Michigan
Upper Peninsula Antique & Vintage Snowmobiles
"Where the history of snowmobiling comes to life."
Welcome to the Official website for The Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum of Naubinway, MI. We are a non-profit, 501c3, antique, vintage and classic snowmobile museum in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We are located on the north side of US 2 in downtown Naubinway. Our museum, fundraisers and events provide one-of-a-kind experience for people of all ages, with 185+ displays to enjoy. We invite you to visit our museum, join us for our events and explore our wonderful town of Naubinway, Michigan in the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Hours of Operation:
Open All Year - 9am to 5pm Daily
Admission: Adult - $5 Kids 16 & under – Free
Located on the north side of US 2, downtown Naubinway
W11660 US 2, Naubinway, MI 49762
Website: www.snowmobilemuseum.com Location: Directions and Map
Phone: 906-477-6298

“The Top of the Lake snowmobile Museum was ranked #1 of the top 13 Fantastic Snowmobile Museums in North America.” – SnowGoer Magazine, December 20^th, 2012

Upcoming Events 2023 - 2024

*Top of the Lake Swap Meet

The Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum Annual Swap Meet will be held on Saturday, September 21, 2024. Located in the Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum Parking Lot on US2 in Naubinway, Michigan. Hours will be 8:00am-3:00pm. All recreational/sporting type items will be allowed. Shop or sell. $5 Admission per person (Free with paid Museum Membership). Admission fee includes admission to the museum. Vendors will be charged $10 for a 2-Place trailer, $20 for a 4-Place Trailer. Raffle drawing at 2:30pm for 5 great prizes. Get your raffle tickets at the Museum any time before 2:15pm that day. For more information call the Museum, (906)-477-6298, or email info@snowmobilemuseum.com.

✳ "Snowmobile the Mighty Mac"

The Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum in conjunction with The St. Ignace Visitors Bureau and the Mackinac Bridge Authority are offering a unique experience for antique and vintage snowmobile enthusiasts. On Saturday, Dec 9, 2023 antique and vintage snowmobiles will be driving over the Mackinac Bridge.
Snowmobiles, which must be a minimum of 25 years old and have front wheel kits that have a minimum 2" wide wheels and no studs or cleats, will be allowed to drive over the bridge under their own power. They also will need a current permit or a Michigan Historic Registration sticker and the driver must be at least 12, with a Youth Snowmobile Safety Class Certificate. Passengers are allowed. There is an extra fee for them. The cost to drive over the bridge is $40, which includes the cost of lunch and all other fees involved. There is a $35 fee for passengers.
Participants will be lining up at the Colonial Michilimackinac parking lot in Mackinaw City. You must be there by 10 AM to unload your snowmobile and drive your trailer north to park at the Welcome Center. A school bus will drive everyone south again. The snowmobile drive over the bridge will begin at 11am. A trailer will be available for any sled that has a problem and can't make the crossing. Lunch will be served at the Little Bear East Arena, in downtown St. Ignace. There is a large parking lot there for the trailers. Commemorative shirts will be available, but you will need to contact the Museum to order one ahead of time (906-477-6298) and pick it up at the Little Bear Arena.
If you would like to register for the event, please register online with the St. Ignace Visitors Bureau (906-643-6950).

https://visitorsbureau.regfox.com/antique-snowmobile-crossing-2023

✳32nd Top of the Lake Snowmobile Show & Ride
Feb. 16 & 17, 2024
32nd Annual weekend of fun with the old sleds in Naubinway, MI, Sponsored by the Top of the Lake Communities Association. This event is 45 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge on US 2. Featured Sled 2024: Eliason Motor Toboggan,100 yrs old.

Friday, 8:00am till 10:30am — Breakfast at the Naubinway Pavilion (1 block south of the blinking light on US 2), sponsored by the Top of the Lake Communities Association
Friday, 11:00am — Ride leaving from the Museum area. Ride 13 miles to Cranberry Lodge, on the Hiawatha Sportsman's Club, for an eventful afternoon with lots of "sled talk" and brats & hotdogs & chicken-on-a-stick, just like the good-old-days. All snowmobiles & riders are welcome. (Please note the later start time.) Riders will leave in groups of 20. Please abide the distancing rules!
Friday, 3:00-8:00pm — Get-together at the museum and go on a short, 3 mile Night Ride beginning at 6:30pm. Bonfire on the trail.
Saturday - 10am-3pm — Display of all sleds in downtown Naubinway. Free registration will be at the Snowmobile Museum, on the north side of US 2. Machines will be on display in front of the stores on the south side of US 2. Bring whatever machine you have. This is a fun event. We do award 3 plaques for Favorite Featured Sled on Sat. at 2:30pm in front of the stores.
Banquet from 4:30-5:30 — Held at the Engadine/Garfield Town Hall, following with a presentation on the featured sled by John McGuirk, raffle drawings and an auction, with the proceeds going to the Top of the Lake Museum Building Fund. Raffle drawing will be held at 7:00pm. Get your tickets ahead of time or at the Show! We would appreciate any donations for the auction. All donations are tax deductible.

Snowmobile Museum sleds that are on display. "Your" Snowmobile Museum
The Museum Board is continuing to work on funding for our new building which is located on the north side of US 2 in Naubinway. We have many projects that we would like to do, such as making displays, and finish paving the parking lot. All donations are tax-exempt and appreciated very much. With all of the donations we have received of memorabilia, money and snowmobiles, we realize this has become a project of love and memories made by so many people. It is definitely not "our" museum but "your" museum. As you can guess, it has taken a lot of hard work and help to build and establish a bigger and better museum. We want to make you a big part of this project. We have donation boards made to list donors and contributors, whether for a business, snowmobile club, individual donor, or donation of equipment and/or labor. We call it our Donor Wall.

Great Events
We currently hold 3 major antique snowmobile events annually that is suitable for the entire family: The Annual Top of the Lake Snowmobile Show & Ride the 3rd weekend in Feb, the annual Swap Meet the 3rd Sat in Sept., and the Snowmobile the Mighty Mac the second Sat in December.

Why Donate?
To continue reaching our goals, we depend on the help of people like you. Whether its a yearly membership, visiting the museum, taking part in a fun activity, buying raffle tickets, or making a donation. We are currently offering a Fundraiser Challenge to help raise money so we can keep our building operation and improvements! Call the Museum for more information.

“One of the coolest museums I've ever been to! The building is super clean and organized, everything is very nicely displayed, and the items they have for sale are unique and well-made. The gentleman running the place was super friendly and very happy to answer any questions we had and shared some interesting facts. We will definitely be stopping in again the next time we are over that way! – Jacy, D. Google Reviews, 5 Stars

Snowmobile Museum Gift Store - Clothing, hats, mats, books, toys, art, banners

Online Vintage and Antique Snowmobile Museum Store
You are invited to check out our Upper Peninsula antique snowmobile museum store and browse our huge array of items for sale. We have many custom handcrafted items for sale along with banner, books, bottles, coat hooks, door mats, hats, mugs, jewelry, toys, videos, and many other miscellaneous items! All purchases are made securely online through PayPal or call the museum with your credit card order.

Handcrafted Kids Snowmobile Rockers Available! Call us at (906) 477-6298!

Onsite Snowmobile Museum Store
When you visit us onsite here in Naubinway, you will be warmly greeted by our many caring workers and volunteers that help make this place possible. We have an even larger selection of inventory, here right onsite. In addition to the list above, we have clothing for all ages which include: t-shirts, sweaters, hoodies, sippin' mittens, and warm weather hats. We have gifts here for all ages. Visit us today to see just how much we have to offer the vintage snowmobile enthusiast!

“Worth Stopping For. Visited here with my wife. I had always wanted to stop here and I wasn't disappointed! Lots of cool snowmobiles to look at and gives you an appreciation for how far the technology has come. The proprietor was very nice and made our visit that much more enjoyable. I'll be bringing my kids back! Thanks for a great stop on our trip! If you like snowmobiles, you must take some time to visit this unique museum! – Sparty1973, Trip Advisor, 5 Stars

Snowmobile Museum News
We invite you to stay up to date with the latest Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum News. We have a long list of great resources for you to utilize along with our Spring and Fall Newsletters that are published each year. Visit the links below to follow the great advances we have made throughout the years and see what is being planned next:
♦ Newsletters
♦ Museum Building
♦ Museum Photos
♦ Podcasts
♦ Articles of Interest
♦ News Articles

Snowmobile Museum Online Store
We invite you to visit our wonderful Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum Online Store. Here we have a huge selection of great vintage snowmobile gifts for the sled lover. We are always adding new items to our inventory and also invite you to visit us in person for even a larger array of products. Visit our store by clicking the link below to view Banners, Books, Bottles, Coat Hooks, Door Mats, Hats, Kids Rockers, mugs, jewelry, toys, videos, and more. One of our most unique gifts in our store is our Kid's Handcrafted Snowmobile Rockers - handmade and loved by many. This incredible gift is made for children who love snowmobiling.

We also have the videos, Old Iron I, II, III, IV & V & VI by Memo-Vision Video Productions, for sale. Video II and VI both have segments on the Museum, which last almost 2 hours and Video IV has a segment about the Vintage National Show.
♦ Snowmobile Museum Online Store

Thank you for visiting, we look forward to seeing you at the Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum and invite you to watch our featured videos below.

https://www.upmatters.com/our-community/our-community-tour-naubinway-top-of-the-lake-snowmobile-museum/?fbclid=IwAR1x9wyGL3qNEp9uD2HPZz3qaAPqGN00GDxrpeIdm2ke1FsI67a0l2DroMA

https://youtu.be/hPa-8lOMapE - Michigan Outdoors, Naubinway Show 2.19.22

https://callofleadership.com/top-of-the-lake-snowmobile-museum-with-charlie-vallier/

Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum News Release-2023 On September 22, 2023 the Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC) in conjunction with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced it would be generously awarding the Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum in Naubinway an $8750 grant for operational support during 2024. MACC uses a peer review process to award grants. More than 700 organizations across the state applied for funding. Each grant application is competitively judged; awardees are chosen to ensure Michigan residents and visitors have access to the most authentic aspects of local arts and culture. Organizations receiving a grant award from MACC/NEA are required to match those funds with other public or private dollars. The Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum receives a great deal of donated monetary support through its memberships and visitors and plans to use these funds to match the MACC grant award. There are 141 active museum members not including lifetime members and more than 7000 visitors just last year.

The museum has plans to bring more local art-related activities to our conference room and develop a program for groups with special needs. This support will go toward the cost of wages and advertising for these activities. On Sept 20, 2019, The Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum was awarded a grant of $12,500 for Operational Support from the State of Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA – ART WORKS). The grant was awarded through the MCACA peer review process and was one of 561 applications to compete for MCACA fiscal year 2019 funding. The grant requires a 1:1 match and helped the museum leverage the $12,500 of support from its annual income and the many donations from supporters. In particular the museum has received grants from the Graymont Community Economic Development Fund and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. It has also received significant donations from the Antique Snowmobile Club of America, The Midwest Vintage Snowmobile Shows, Inc., many snowmobile clubs, several recreational and snowmobile shows, the museum’s internal $1,000.00 Challenge, and many museum members. The grant funds will be applied to museum operating costs. Applicable costs include internal operations, marketing, travel to shows within the State of Michigan and cost of employees. The MCACA peer review process allows for each grant applicant to be competitively considered by a panel of in-state and out-of-state arts and culture professionals. This ensures the taxpayers, who support this project through legislative appropriations, and all other visitors or residents in Michigan will have access to the highest quality arts and cultural experiences. A complete list of grant awards around the state is available by contacting MCACA at (517) 241-4011, or by visiting the MCACA website at www.michigan.gov/arts