You can still get from Point A to Point B this winter on snowmobile trails, just fewer of them.
Gilbert Fortin is president and governor of the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs district from Temagami to Timmins, Iroquois Falls and Foleyet. He says it’s a matter of rising costs.
“As you know, everything is going up,” he remarks. “In less than 10 years, our groomers went up over $100,000 each. And the cost of fuel, I don’t need to mention that. Obviously, we’re paying a heck of a lot more for fuel than ten years ago.”
The OFSC opted to close 5,000 of the 25,000km of trails across the province.
“We looked at it carefully and eliminated the ones we could do without,” Fortin explains. “And this way we can keep the permit price as it is and stay afloat.”
Most of the closed trails run parallel to others.
Permits are on sale on the OFSC website. The price goes up $30 on November 1st, and $50 December 1st.
