Barrie's Snow Valley opens for the season

Despite it feeling more like late spring at times throughout Saturday, one of the area's go-to destinations for winter fun kicked off its season.

On Saturday, Snow Valley Ski Resort officially welcomed customers back for the first time this year.

"It was huge for us," says Trevor Craig, who was one of the first people to hit the slopes Saturday morning. "We haven't skied since March 2020!"

After a few weeks of cold temperatures, staff were able to prepare over 10-million gallons of snow, ensuring they were ready for Saturday's scheduled open.

"The weather is going on a bit of a roller coaster now, but we are going to have some snow-making temperatures at night next week, and we're hopefully going to be able to make snow to open up more runs before the Christmas break," says John Ball, the general manager.

Ball says the resort always intends to open towards the beginning of December. While the resort was forced to close for most of last year due to COVID-19 restrictions, Ball says new protocols are in place for this season.

"Your car is your chalet. If you came in a car with someone, you can ridea chair with someone," says Ball. "So those are some of the key points that we've got in the messaging for the guests that are coming now, but if you treat your car as your chalet, then you are going to have a fantastic outing here at Snow Valley."

For details on the hours of operation, you can click here.