With winter now in full swing, Haliburton County Snowmobile Association president Neil Vanderstoop said it’s been the best start to a snowmobile season in the Highlands for several years. HCSA president Neil Vanderstoop said his club hopes to reinstate approximately 42 kilometres of local snowmobile trails it lost this year by next season. Photo by Mike Baker.
“This is the earliest we’ve been out for some time – we’ve groomed up and down Trail 9 already, Trail 16 has been trimmed and taken care of too,” Vanderstoop said. “We’ve also started staking some of our lakes – we’ve been on South Lake and Head Lake, Eagle Lake is getting done and soon we’ll have Kennisis, Redstone and Haliburton lakes staked too.”
He warned that no ice surface, regardless of how thick you think it might be, is safe to travel on unless it has been officially staked. Vanderstoop said there needs to be at least eight inches of ice before a lake is considered passable.
There was some good news in late December after the Ontario government announced it would be investing an additional $3.9 million – on top of the $1 million it had already committed – to restore 4,500 kilometres of lost snowmobile trails provincewide.
Vanderstoop said Snow Country District 6, which HCSA is a part of alongside 13 other cottage country clubs, lost 268 kilometres of trails this season after the OFSC announced cuts to 5,000 kilometres of trails last fall, citing funding challenges.
About 42 kilometres of trails in Haliburton County were cut, including the old TOP B112 northbound that could be accessed from Fleming Road in Minden. The former Trail 4 has now been renamed TOP B112, while plans are in the works to replace the old system.
With the influx of provincial cash, Vanderstoop said district figureheads have committed to reopening 268 kilometres of trails, hopefully for next season.
“The kilometres we lost, we may not get them back in the same spot, but we are committed to getting those kilometres of trails back,” Vanderstoop said. “We’re trying to develop a few little loops too – we have the Forest and Rail (FAR) Loop around Minden, Haliburton and Carnarvon and the Red Seven that runs into Haliburton by the Pinestone, but we’d like more.”
With Ontario’s snowmobile network contributing approximately $6 billion of economic activity annually, HaliburtonKawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott said the province is committed to working with OFSC on a long-term trail strategy to ensure the survival of Ontario’s 30,000-plus kilometre network.
District to reopen 268 kms of trails
Vanderstoop said HCSA has sold more than 1,800 trail permits this season, noting the snowmobile season brings in about $7.5 million to the County economy annually.
With such a heavy presence of snowmobilers locally, the club president said it’s vital that people make sure they’re following the rules of the trails. That means obeying posted speed limits and road signs. Unless otherwise stated, speed limits are generally 50 km/h.
“I went down the rail line last week and had some men in front of me who should know better, but they barely hesitated at the stop signs,” Vanderstoop said. He recently hit the trails with a friend and his teenage daughter, who completed a virtual driver training course through the OFSC. Vanderstoop was so impressed by the way she conducted herself that he now thinks it would be a good idea for all fledgling snowmobile operators to follow suit.
The OFSC course is available to anyone 12 and older, though it’s only a requirement for those who do not have a valid Ontario driver’s licence.
“I think there probably is a need for some kind of training before anyone climbs on a snowmobile for the first time,” Vanderstoop said. “It should almost be like getting a boating licence.”
In Ontario, anyone operating a recreational motorized boat is legally required to carry a Pleasure Craft Operator Card (PCOC), or other official proof of competency. The cards are mandatory for people of all ages, regardless of the size of the boat or horsepower of the engine. Operating a boat without a PCOC can result in fines of at least $250.
While there’s rain in the forecast this week, Vanderstoop said he expects minimal impact to local trails.
“It’ll just tighten up some of the snow we haven’t gotten to yet. The base is good, the last ice storm we had took care of that,” he said.
