TALES FROM ONTARIO TRAILS

By the end of the 2023 season, we’d ridden every loop of Algoma’s OFSC trail system. My favorites were The Northern Experience, The Deer Trail and The North Shore Scenic. Geologic formations amidst rugged terrain surfaces, simulated well, that of old mushrooms (chaga), yet on a whole different scale; exciting, to...

We’re the Colbourne Family! Our favourite family rides are the ones we take over the weekend when everyone is off work and able to hit the trails together. My son, Cole, looks forward to these types of weekends, so much so that he tells stories about his travels to his kindergarten friends and teachers.  His...

For the first weekend of March, we met friends at the Sand Dam Rd. parking and staging site about 25 kilometres north of North Bay on Highway 11, at the intersection of TOP A/D and TOP A102Q. As we packed our gear onto the sleds for our overnight getaway, the clouds started to part and...

As a couple who ride together, we enjoy the beauty of being out on our trails taking in what the OFSC has to offer.  After a long 25 years, we decided to get back into snowmobiling in December of 2020. We made a plan to purchase one snowmobile to use to make sure that we...

It was a beautiful sunny day with a crisp chill in the air. We loaded the snowmobile in Cambridge and headed to Elmira to ride the OFSC trails. It was my first time riding in that area and my son’s, Jackson, first time out on the trails.  We completed a 150km loop, stopping in St....

I recently completed a loop around Lady Evelyn Lake with my wife and a friend. It was my wife’s very first saddle bag trip, so I wanted to make sure this was a trip she would enjoy and remember. I personally think this loop has some of the best trails in Ontario. We set out...

My husband is an avid snowmobiler, so naturally, I have also taken up this wonderful winter activity. The past several years have been jammed-packed with snowmobiling in Erin, Orangeville, Timmins, South River and Muskoka, to name a few. I am a nurse, so in recent years it seems to get more difficult getting out on...

I met my beautiful wife when we were both 16 years old. I knew she was the one right away, and we both said our vows at the young age of 23. We will be celebrating our 40th anniversary this September! We started sledding with my family when I was a teenager up in Muskoka...

I would like to shine a light on a personal milestone that my wife, Pauline, from Timmins, Ontario, has accomplished – surpassing the 100,000-kilometre mark! Pauline has been trail riding snowmobiles since 1992. To date, she has clocked a total of 103,600 kilometres. During this time, we have taken many week-long...

Snowmobiling has typically been a recreational activity that only ‘the guys’ do. Each weekend, gathering like a pack of wolves to explore miles of untouched wilderness and finish the day’s ride with a meal fit for a king. It’s the only way I know to spend winter. For 20 years, I’ve been sledding across...

Nothing else compares to snowmobiling and I’m fortunate enough to be able to hit the trails from my front door. To have an amazing trail system that is so connected, well maintained, and filled with happy people is very impressive. This past season was one of the best I’ve seen in my 10+ years of...

With the pandemic of last year, I ended up riding alone in my public health region of Grey Bruce. I’m glad that I chose to purchase a trail permit in lockdown as it gave me one of my best seasons that I have had so far! One of the coolest memories I have was stopping...

After provincial lockdowns, the monotony of home schooling and remote work, the ability to escape onto a trail for an hour or a day was a welcomed relief. My family would typically have two winter trips but due to the increased restrictions, that was impossible. Snowmobiling provided a sense of normalcy and...

I’ve been an OFSC trail rider for over 20 years, and I have to say, that last season was an outstanding season of snowmobiling in Ontario. I managed to put close to 2000km on my sled, which would have been much more if there weren’t government travel restrictions in place. A typical ride consists of...

In Timmins, we are very fortunate to have our club, and surrounding clubs in the area offering great groomed trails. This really helped to make the COVID winter feel shorter than it was.  I own several Skidoos and working on them is my passion. I enjoy each season even if the weather cuts it a bit short...

My home club is the Durham Trailblazers. I’ve been riding for over 20 years with my husband and when we heard that there were restrictions in place where we would have to stick within our own Public Health Unit, we were a little concerned. Our area isn’t normally blessed with a good covering of snow from...

My wife and I have been riding the trails for over 20 years. Snowmobiling is the best way to spend our winters – hands down. It lets us get outside and enjoy some fresh air and explore new trails. This year was very different, in the sense that we had to ride from home. In doing so,...

  Snowmobiling leaves me feeling empowered. Hands on the grips, blowing past snow-covered trees, and the silence when you stop, it doesn’t get any better than that. Snowmobiling this past season was as close as you could get to freedom during a global pandemic. Not only was it a glimpse into what life used to...