“Conditions are fabulous. Why would we go anywhere else?” says Kitchener resident Frank Maher. “It's perfect.”
Maher’s talking about a one-of-a-kind figure-eight snowmobile loop that stretches from Orillia to Grey County and north toward Port Severn.
“It's 300 kilometers of signed trail that's a tourism loop that's meant for people out of our area to come and ride and enjoy the best that this area has to offer,” says Kevin Hagen, manager of mid-Ontario District Snowmobile Trails.
This year is the first the club is promoting the new loop. It’s bringing riders out in huge numbers, even from the United States. It links some of the region’s best snowmobile trails, and is unique to Central Ontario.
“There are six in total in the province and most of them are way up north so you got to really travel,” says Hagen. “This one has the convenience that it is very close to Toronto so we can get the GTA people up here to ride our trails. It's just easy access because of our area.”
People are coming from all over to experience the trail. Paul Censner came from Waterloo.
“It's a draw because it's an easy way through town now,” he says. “You don't have to find a way through the streets. The trail just links everything to everything. We can just keep cruising; we don't have to figure out how we're going to cross highways and stuff.”
And the influx of riders has been good news for the local economy.
“From the time we open at 11 a.m. sometimes we have snowmobilers waiting outside until it gets dark. Saturdays and Sundays this place will fill up,” says Stephanie Cascagnette at Boston Pizza.
Trish Price at the Best Western Plus Highland Inn and Conference centre says business there is up 60 to 70 per cent. Hagen says he's happy to see that boost in business reflected on the trails too.
“We go by the permits we sell,” he says. “And this winter is going to be a phenomenal winter. We would probably be up 50 per cent from what we were last year.”
Being so close to businesses, hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and more, people traveling the route have easy access to amenities and can keep sledding.
