It’s been a long time coming for sledders across Ontario. As of Friday night, about 8,000 kilometres of trails are open across the province.
“This is what we’ve been wanting to do for a long time, like last year was a wash. This year, we’ve got it happening... kudo’s to mother nature. Welcome to Canada folks,” said Boris Nikolov near Victoria Harbour.
That excitement is being felt right across the region heading into the weekend. The heavy amounts of snow and recent cold set up the perfect conditions for local groomers.
The Georgian Bay Snow Riders association is responsible for 150-kilometres of trails. All of which are now open.
“Busy is an understatement, the amount of snowmobiles that have been up in the Georgian Bay area in the last couple of weeks is unheard of. It’s such a boom to the local economy, its quite impressive to see so many people out actually using our trails,” said Patrick Murray President of Georgian Bay Snow Riders association.
“We could use a little bit more of fresh snow but they’ve got most of the bumps and everything all smoothed out now. We just need a little but more fresh snow and it all would be great,” said Chris Woods of Midland.
From restaurants to coffee shops any business that lines the trails has noticed the increase in business compared to previous years.
“Last year was brutal. We didn’t see the groomer go by more than once, this year, we see it weekly they are putting in the work making the trails great and I think everybody is benefiting from that,” shared Scott Campbell owner and operator of Grounded Coffee Co. in Midland.
Keep in mind, some trails are still not open in parts of the region and the ice on lakes is always a risk.
People are encouraged to stay on open trails and keep the experience fun and safe. Next weeks anticipated freezing temperatures are just what the doctors ordered for the trails.
If you are heading out on the weekend, make sure you have your permit and don’t forget to stick to the marked trails.
