Alberta Mountain Riding in Late March!
Intrepid Snowmobiler Preview of Crowsnest Pass Article: Glenn King and I rode four days this March in the mountains around Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. Great people, deep powder, incredible scenery and tons of fun. Watch for the full story on this exceptional Alberta mountain riding destination next fall in Snow Goer Canada Magazine – and go there today for some primo spring riding!
Where We Stayed: Stop Inn Motel and A Safe Haven B&B.
Where We Ate Breakfast: Chris’ Restaurant, Stone’s Throw Cafe, Safe Haven B&B.
Lunches To Go: Chippers, Side Trax Dinner, Stone’s Throw Cafe.
Where We Ate Dinner: River Ridge Family Restaurant, Bamboo Bistro, Vito’s Family Restaurant, Popiels Restaurant, The Rum Runner
Special Thanks: Travel Alberta, Community Futures Crowsnest, Mr. R’s for the Ski-Doo Summit sleds, the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, the Crow Riders Snowmobile Club and our great guides: Joe Trotz, Doug Cox, Don Forsyth and Andrew Bokkel.
Season Recap: 8,500 Klicks!
It may not look like it from the photo above, but Old Man Winter really screwed us big time this winter. Many traditional snowbelt regions were skunked, while others suffered less snow than normal. Still, if you searched for it and were prepared to go where and when it was, there was some great trail riding to be had. I found lots and the articles will appear next season in Snow Goer Canada magazine…
My season started between Xmas and New Year’s when I put on over 500 “break in kilometres” on my new Ski-Doo GSX SE 800R ETEC at Ontario’s Northern Corridor. The first week of January, I towed my Triton trailer to Quebec’s Saguenay region to ride almost 1,200 km in the Monts Valin area. Mid-January, I staged out of Northern Ontario’s Kirkland Lake into the Abitibi-Témiscaminque region of Quebec for another 800 klicks or so. I wrapped up the month with a three-day junket to Ontario’s Ottawa Valley, staging out of Renfrew for almost 600 km.
By the beginning of February, I was riding in Eastern Ontario for over 1,000 kilometres, followed by a 2-dayer out of Haliburton, Ontario for another 600. After racking up more distance on several days trips, including the 1st Ontario Snow-cial Ride, it was off the New Brunswick for a 2,100 kilometre tour that finished the first week in March.
Who was to know that the end of my trail riding was co close when I set out for Quebec again to do over 1,400 km in the Quebec, Saguenay and Charlevoix regions in mid-March? Now I’m off to finish up my winter at Crowsnest Pass, having put on a respectable, but low for me, 8,500 kilometres. Oh well, there’s always next winter…
Leaders Ride in Quebec
Intrepid Snowmobiler Preview of Snow Goer Canada Article Appearing Next Fall: The leaders of organized snowmobiling in Canada enjoyed some primo trail riding in the Quebec, Charlevoix and Saguenay regions of La Bell Province last week. After a meeting of the Canadian Council of Snowmobile Organizations (CCSO), they set off on a four-day, 1,200-kilometre circle tour from The City of Quebec, around Lac-St-Jean and back that featured spectacular scenery and fresh snow every night.
Where We Stayed: Four Points by Sheraton, Quebec; Chateau Roberval, Roberval; Auberge Mille 31, Monts Valin; Fairmont Manoir Richelieu, La Malbaie.
Tours At A Glance
To date, I’ve posted these tour articles on my site (list starts with most recent posts), so enjoy!
New Brunswick Preview
Saskatchewan - 2 articles
Ontario (Haliburton)
Nunavut
Ontario (Renfrew)
Ontario (Ride Around Superior)
Labrador (East & West) - 2 articles
Quebec (Monts Valins Snapshot)
Ontario (Sudbury area)
Manitoba (East, West and Winnipeg) - 3 articles
Ontario (RAP Tour) - 3 articles
Quebec (Gaspèsie) - 3 articles
British Columbia (Valemount) - 2 articles
Quebec (Northern ride)
Quebec (Outaouais & Laurentians)
New Brunswick (North & South) - 3 articles
Ontario (Cottage Country)
British Columbia (Kelowna)
Ontario (Moosonee)
Ontario (Northern Corridor)
Visit Snowy New Brunswick
Intrepid Snowmobiler Preview of Snow Goer Canada Article Appearing Next Fall: I snowmobiled 2,000+ kilometres on a recent tour of New Brunswick, circumnavigating the whole province, mostly in fresh powder. We had especially great rides in Zone 6 (Moncton to Miramichi) and Zone 8 (Bay of Fundy Highlands, southwest of Moncton) and Zone 3 (Acadian Peninsula). If you’re looking for primo trail riding, you can do no better than New Brunswick!
Watch for my tour article in Snow Goer Canada Magazine next fall and use it to plan your own visit to snowy New Brunswick. Meanwhile, check out my previous New Brunswick snowmobiling articles or this great video!
A major snow storm hit on our first night in New Brunswick and this is what greeted us the next morning! If you’re looking for snow, this is the place - even in your underwear!
Where We Stayed: Quality Inn, Edmundston; Quality Inn, Grand Falls; Riverside Resort, Fredericton; Howard Johnson’s, Miramichi; Hampton Inn, Moncton; Adair’s Wilderness Lodge, Sussex; Atlantic Host, Bathurst.
Intrepid Snowmobiler Saskatchewan Tours: Snow Goer Canada sent me on a ride across Saskatchewan and here’s my story.
Bonus: check out my previous Saskatchewan ride on Route 66!
Pinestone Resort, Halibuton: If you’re looking for a special long weekend destination in Ontario, where the trails are great and your family will have plenty to do, try the luxurious Pinestone Resort in the Haliburton Highlands. We just rode our Ski-Doo snowmobiles over 600 kilometres in two days and there are many short, medium and long loops to suit every kind of rider. Pinestone offers resort rooms, villas and chalets, on site restaurant, lounge and fuel (for guests), plus plenty of parking and a secure sled compound too! Best of all, it’s right on Trail 7.
Intrepid Snowmobiler Nunavut Tour: I haven’t snowmobiled everywhere, but I have been to the Arctic! Check out my visit to Iqaluit where I froze my butt off for Snow Goer Canada magazine!
Ride Renfrew in the Ottawa Valley
If you’re looking for a great Ontario ride, where snow conditions are good and trails are A-1, head for the Ottawa Valley and stay at the Best Western Renfrew! The hotel is totally trail accessible from TOP A and has plenty of parking for trucks and trailers. Only 4 hours from the GTA!
