High time nears for sledder trail groups as snow builds up

By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Source: The Chronicle-Journal

Thunder Bay Adventure Trails says it could have some snowmobile trails ready for machines next week if there’s enough snow to groom.

“Our hope is to start the first week in January,” an association spokesperson said in an email.

“Many places on the trails have too little snow to start grooming,” the person added. “For our bush trails, we need 18 inches of snow to start.”

When there is enough snow, the club maintains a 300-kilometre network starting at Kakabeka Falls.

Meanwhile, if cold weather holds, trails for sledders are expected to be fully available in two weeks in the Dryden region.

“Everybody is getting ready,” Audrey Robb, administrator for the Northwestern Ontario Snowmobile Trail Association, said on Tuesday.

Trail clubs in Dryden and Sioux Lookout “are going to be open on Friday,” Robb said.

One issue, she said, has been a lack of ice in areas where trails traverse creeks and lakes. There hasn’t been much snow in Kenora so far this season, Robb added.

The status of snowmobile trails across the province can be viewed online at the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs’ website: ofsc.on.ca.