Mother Nature dampens snowmobiling season across Ontario: 'It’s just not safe'

With the rain this weekend melting much of the snow that fell earlier in the month, it has also melted the momentum of a strong start to this year’s snowmobiling season.

According to the Ontario Federation of Snowmobiling Clubs (OFSC), not a single trail in the province was available as of Monday.

“We don’t have any frost in the ground, and we have running water and standing water in many places,” said Arthur Christakos, president of Baxter Snow Riders in Port Severn. “It’s just not safe.”

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Christakos says Baxter Snow Riders trails have not been able to open yet even with all the December snow.

Georgian Bay Snowriders (GBSR) president Patrick Murray said they had opened some of their trails for seven days prior to this past weekend’s rainfall, equating to nearly half the days their trails were open for all of last season.

“[It] was really, really awesome because normally we don’t get trails open before Christmas,” said Murray. “The tourism spinoff for snowmobiling is incredible. It’s a real boost to the economy.”

Orillia District Snowmobile Club (ODSC) posted a photo on social media Saturday afternoon showing a snowmobile that got caught in a ditch on a trail near Orillia.

In a statement to CTV News, ODSC’s president Rob Love said in part: “Although the club volunteers work hard to provide great trail experiences, we unfortunately have to deal with changing weather conditions… Trails are closed for a reason, so please do not ride on closed trails.”

Snowmobilers could face fines of $110 for riding on closed trails.

“Snowmobilers need to remind themselves that, until the trails are actually open and the OFSC does show that the trails are open, they have to stay off them,” added OPP Const. Dave Hobson.

The good news is the forecast.

With colder temperatures on the horizon, local clubs are hopeful that it would allow their trails to get an ideal base of snow and ice for safe operation.

“We need a foot of snow to get rolling again and then I think that’ll be it for the mild trend,” said Murray.

“It’s a year-round effort on the volunteers part to get [the trails] to the point where you can open [them],” added Christakos.

GBSR members said they hope to get some of their trails reopened by sometime next week, while Baxter Snow Riders members hope to open theirs later in January.

Snowmobilers can check on the status of trails through the interactive trail guides on the OFSC website.