Snowmobile season hit hard with limited trail access in Simcoe County, Muskoka
The 2022 snowmobiling season has not been kind to snowmobilers in Simcoe County and Muskoka.
With trails closed or down to dirt, businesses that rely on snowmobiling tourism, such as sled rentals, have been hit hard.
"We don't get the snow, the groomers won't be moving. There's nothing to work with. No snow there to work with," said Bill Watts, Hill & Gully Riders assistant trail coordinator. "
The dwindling sledding season has impacted the local economy, with a significant decline in business.
"Hotels, motels, restaurants, it affects the whole Muskoka area. There's a lot of money to be made there. People come up from the city or even up from the states to snowmobile up here," Watts said.
The manager of Mid Ontario Snowmobile Trails calls this the worst snowmobile season since 2009.
Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs website shows most trails across the region closed, while others are limited on Thurs., Feb. 16, 2023. (OFSC)
"The season is so short anyway," noted Muskoka Wild co-owner Miriam Dick. "The previous seasons, we've gotten anywhere from six to eight weeks. This season it's only been two weeks already, with the other two being questionable."
With limited trail access, some sledders desperate to ride are taking risks, including turning to lakes and roads.
"It's a concern for people that don't understand the lakes in the area and want to go on a lake because they see other people doing it and think it looks cool, but it's a big safety concern," Dick said.
In Muskoka, locals remain optimistic with snow in the forecast, potentially allowing groomers to be in action as early as Friday.
"If we got some good snow in the next, say, week, we could be open for a while. It all depends on how cold it is," Watts said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.