Objective of the study was to compare athletes' personal motives and self-rating of motivational state depending on the level of development of their sports mastery. Methods and structure of the study. Sampled for the study were 30 people - participants of the 1st stage of the Russian Sports Tourism Cup - indoor walking distances (November 2018, Perm region). The first group was made of the athletes covering the walking track of the 3rd level of difficulty (13 people), the second group included those covering the walking track of the 5th level of difficulty (17 people). The following methods were applied during the study: a questionnaire survey aimed to identify the reasons for choosing a particular sport, assess its popularity, material conditions for participating in the chosen sport; a modified standardized questionnaire for assessing personal motives for sports activities, which includes 31 statements developed by Dieter Tepel and Reinhild Kemper, scientists of the institutes of psychology of sport and physical activity in Cologne, Germany, "Scale of motivational state" developed by V.F. Sopov aimed to assess the situational motivation of athletes. Study results and conclusions. The study found that the dominant personal motives for sports tourism practices are the desire to develop own physical abilities and expand the circle of contacts. At the same time, as the skill level increases, the significance of motives for self-realization and achievement of a personal goal by overcoming sports-related difficulties increases. With the increase in the level of sports mastery, athletes' self-rating of "motivational state" changes, becoming more adequate and associated with a positive assessment of the training process, confidence in the chosen training method and hope for success.