Snowmobilers, local businesses rejoice after provincial funding helps restore 4,500 km of trails

CTV's Mike Lang takes us behind the scenes to see how everything comes together before the first ride.

Despite ideal early December conditions for snowmobiling, the sport could have melted down in parts of central Ontario if the provincial government had not intervened.

Going into the season, the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) was on the verge of cutting 4,500 kilometres worth of trails from its network.

“Costs have continued to rise, permit sales have come back down to Earth and actually gone below that,” said Ryan Eickmeier, OFSC CEO, of permit sales declining since surging during the pandemic. “We had to make some difficult but necessary decisions to balance our budget for the upcoming year.”

One of those major trail closures would have been in Port Carling, a crucial snowmobiling junction for Muskoka.

Former Phil Harding, former Muskoka Lakes Township Mayor, is also the former director of the Muskoka Lakes Snow Trails Association, which is under OFSC District 7. He resigned so that he could advocate freely.

• Ontario invests millions to ensure snowmobile season gets back on track

“I wasn’t very happy, I know a number of other people that who were not very happy,” said Harding. “So to be able to impact and proactively speak to the government unfettered, I resigned my position on the board.”

His call to action was answered.

The province announced an additional $3.9 million in funding this past Thursday to make sure that the OFSC can groom and maintain all 30,000 kilometres of its trail network.

“There are people coming all winter long that are spending money on gas and food and lodging,” said Graydon Smith, Parry Sound—Muskoka MPP. “It really helps the local economy of many small communities, not only in my riding, but all through central Ontario and Ontario to survive.”

An example is Bass Lake RoadHouse on Highway 169.

“It’s literally 75 to 80 per cent of our clientele in the winter,” said Trish Norrie, the establishment’s assistant manager. “We get like up to 250 to 300 snowmobiles here a day on the winter weekends.”

For Harding and Muskoka Lakes Township, the provincial funding allows them to bridge their snowmobile trail back together by assembling their docks, which will re-connect the route between Bracebridge to Port Carling, MacTier and Bala.

“I was certainly thankful that the province stepped in,” said Harding.

“Great news for snowmobilers, great news for our federation, but I think importantly great news for communities across Ontario that rely on snowmobile traffic,” added Eickmeier.

Across the entire province, the snowmobiling network contributes to upwards of $6 billion of economic activity per year.

While almost all OFSC trails remain closed as of this week, the hope is for most of them to be open by January.