Snowmobile trails open around the region

Snowmobile trails open The time has finally come to hit the trails, CTV's Rob Cooper reports.

Barrie — The time has finally come to hit the trails.

If you are an avid snowmobiler, the refresh button on your internet browser is probably tired from checking the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) interactive trail guide map.

You’re in luck. If you refreshed the page around 9 this morning, more than one-thousand kilometres of the 1,200 kilometres maintained by the OFSC in Simcoe County are now open or limited.

OFSC Regional Manager, Kevin Hagen, says the low temperatures and the blast of snow over the last couple of weeks have made it possible for groomers to get out and clear up the trails.

The rest of the trails need the cool weather and another 10 centimetres of snow to open fully.

A timely day for green to light up the trail map as the OPP also launch their annual ‘Snowmobile Safety Week’ Campaign in Orillia today.

As part of the safety blitz, the OPP has done 10 years of research investigating 10 years of fatalities around the province.

Of 175 fatal crashes in OPP-patrolled regions, 45 percent of the deaths involved alcohol.

Forty-five percent of those crashes also involved some body of water, including falling through the ice, puddle jumping, or high speeds on open ice.

OPP Chief Superintendent Rohan Tompson says, "Our data tells us that the vast majority of snowmobile fatalities we investigate are completely preventable and the result of snowmobilers taking unnecessary risks."

If you want to check the trails where you live, check out the OFSC Interactive Trail Guide Map.

Our region is home to some incredible beauty, so if you are out on the trails and can safely capture that beauty, email it to us.