If the smell of gasoline and roar of a motor on the cold air are part of what you love about a New England winter, check out the vintage snowmobile sat Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown. The New Hampshire Snowmobile Museum Association (NHSMA) hosts its 23rd Annual Winter Show on Sunday, Feb. 17, at the park’s Museum Complex.

Snowmobile collectors, restorers, riders and vintage enthusiasts will gather to display and view snow-traveling machines, meet committed collectors, and hear special presentations on this year’s featured line, Scorpion Snowmobiles.

Weather and conditions permitting, there will also be a parade of vintage machines through the park trails.

Mike Wheeler of Dunbarton Center Road in Bow, and his wife, Sue Wheeler, will don matching Scorpion snowmobile suits and display Mike’s 1969 Scorpion sled. He has half a dozen other vintage machines in the garage.

Last year he took his Arctic Cat when that line was featured, though any make and model can be displayed. Mike has never owned newer snowmobiles. All winter he “runs around” on his old sleds and likes it that way. His sister-in-law and neighbor, Carol Bailey, has served on NHSMA’s board as treasurer for almost 12 years.

“I like the old sleds,” Bailey said. “I like to watch them, see people using them, and I like to be part of it. The old sleds are fun.”

New Hampshire played a key role in the development of snowmobiling, and in 1985, the New Hampshire Snowmobile Museum Association was founded to preserve its history.

Space was provided by the Division of Parks and Recreation in one of the Civilian Conservation Corps buildings at Bear Brook State Park. Over 80 donated machines are displayed on rotation, along with a collection of memorabilia. Winter hours are Saturdays, 1 to 3 p.m., and in the summer by request to the staff at the Camping Museum, also housed in Bear Brook’s Museum Complex.

The 23rd annual winter show starts at 9 a.m. Sunday and continues into the afternoon. Awards are presented at 2 p.m. To display snowmobiles, pre-registration is encouraged or register on the day of the show from 9 to10 a.m. only. The show is free and open to the public. For more details on this event and the New Hampshire Snowmobile Museum Association, visit www.nhsnowmobilemuseum.com.