Inside Rockin’ the Trails 2025: Ontario’s Biggest ATV Rally & Music Festival

“1000+ ATVs will be there!” an excited Claude Aumont from Destination Ontario proudly exclaimed. This was the estimated attendance number based on pre-ticket sales revealed during a five-way conference call held in early June between me and representatives from Destination Ontario, the Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance, and the Ride For Dad charity organization. They were anticipating a strong turnout for the first iteration of Rockin’ the Trails—a unique event pairing ATV riding with country music performances slated for June 21, 2025 in Tweed, ON.

In all my years attending powersports events and races, I’d never seen that number of machines amassed in one location, not even at the national motocross series. With my ‘cautiously optimistic’ hat firmly in place, I was stoked to learn on the call that I’d been selected to document the day’s events with full photo and video coverage on the docket, so I’d get to see firsthand if the estimates would come to fruition.

The Origin of Rockin’ the Trails

Rockin' the Trails was the brainchild of Aumont (Strategic Partnership Coordinator at Destination Ontario), in collaboration with Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance and the Ride for Dad charity organization, combined with two powerhouse Canadian country music performers, Sudbury’s own Larry Berrio and Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame singer Jason McCoy. The game plan was to hold a massive ATV rally followed by a concert featuring Berrio and McCoy, who were both set to participate in the ride, as they are both avid off-road enthusiasts. The best part is that this was all in the name of a good cause: raising money for prostate cancer research via Ride For Dad.

Riders Converge in Tweed for Ontario’s Largest ATV Rally

Upon arrival at the Tweed Fairgrounds, my video producer and I were surprised at just how many quads and side-by-sides were buzzing around town, in addition to what seemed like an endless queue of trucks and trailers waiting to get on site; maybe there would be 1000 machines after all! As we toured around the grounds, it surprised me to see an entire field dedicated to camper and RV parking, which indicated that people had travelled from great distances to attend—being a 1-day event, that really spoke volumes.

Hitting the Trails with Larry Berrio and Jason McCoy

We connected with Larry Berrio and Jason McCoy, and after brief introductions, loaded up the side-by-sides we’d be using (generously provided by Yamaha Canada) out on the trails. Due to a time crunch and the fact that they both had to be back early for sound check, we did an abbreviated version of the 70-kilometre loop mapped out by EOTA (Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance), which still provided us with many picturesque shots while allowing Berrio and McCoy a chance to kick back and enjoy the ride before they had to transition into performer mode. Both are no strangers to powersports and comfortably navigated sweeping corners, dusty straightaways and a number of unique bridge crossings. We even toured a bit through town, stopping to meet some local OPP and firefighters from the Tweed detachment.

I had met and worked with Larry many times in the past, as he has been an official powersports ambassador with Destination Ontario, but this was my first time meeting Jason. It was clear within two minutes of seeing him light up when the cameras were rolling that he’s a true performer at heart, getting through lengthy film segments completely off the cuff, often only needing one take. It would also explain why he’s amassed such a loyal following in the Canadian Country music scene.

From the Trails to the Fairgrounds: A Full Day of Music and Community At Rockin' the Trails 2025

As we returned to the fairgrounds and the guys went for sound check, we took the opportunity to tour around the RV field, speaking with attendees on their thoughts on the event so far. As I suspected, people did in fact travel from all regions of the province to attend, with one group making the trek from Windsor! This was a testament to the promotion of the organizers using the power of social media and the tight-knit ATV community in Ontario.

After a tasty dinner (included in the general admission ticket), the opening act Rayzor’s Edge took to the stage, firing concertgoers up with a mix of current and classic rock cover songs.

 Next on stage was Larry Berrio, who always knows how to play to the crowd. I’ve had the pleasure of photographing him many times over the years and taking in his performances, and every time he’s put 110% into the show for his fans. Like Rayzor’s Edge, Larry and the band mix it up with covers and some original music, my favourite being ‘What A Ride’, which is all about riding in Ontario.

Bringing the House Down: Jason McCoy and Larry Berrio Deliver a High-Energy Performance in Tweed

Now that the first two shows were in the books and the crowd was in full-on party mode, paving the way for the main act, Jason McCoy hit the stage. He walked on to a thunderous round of cheers—and you could tell these weren’t just casual fans; they were there because they love his music (evident by many singing along word for word). Not being a huge country fan outside of Johnny Cash and Larry, I had never heard Jason’s music, let alone seen him perform live. I was quickly blown away by not only his stage presence and ability to vibe off the crowd, but also how good the songs were. I caught myself toe-tapping to just about every tune and at one point was shooting photos right on the stage behind the band, which really gave a brief POV insight into how cool it must be to perform to a crowd of adoring fans.

 Another thing that stuck out was the wide range of age demographics of those in attendance, which had to be as young as early teens right up to middle-aged and beyond.

At the end of his set, Jason brought Larry up for an encore performance together that nearly brought the house down. The energy in the air was electric, and everywhere I looked saw nothing but smiling faces, which was so cool to see, knowing all the hard work behind the scenes that went into making the event come to life. Despite it being a very long, hot day of riding and performing, Jason and Larry concluded the evening interacting with fans, signing autographs and taking pictures.

Don't Miss Rockin' the Trail 2026

Plans are already in the works for the 2026 edition of Rockin’ the Trails, and I, for one, can’t wait to see what they come up with for next year! If you love country music and riding ATVs, this needs to be a date circled on your calendar. Learn more, stay up to date, and find your tickets at rockinthetrail.ca.

Behind the Scenes of Rockin’ the Trails 2025: An Interview with Claude Aumont

*After completing this story, I caught up with Claude Aumont from Destination Ontario (one of the main organizers of the event) to get his reflections on Rockin’ the Trails 2025:

Virgil: How did the collaboration of EOTA, DO and Ride For Dad come together to make such a successful event?

Claude: For this event, we brought together influencers Larry Berrio and Jason McCoy, who are at the top of the list for powersports ambassadors for Ontario. They’ve worked together in the past, plus they’re both avid ATVers. The list goes on and on. Larry Berrio has worked with Destination Ontario in the past, and the projects were successful. Jason McCoy was a natural fit, and he was already working with the Ride For Dad charity. The event was a combination of all those points coming together in one of the premier ATV destinations in the province.

Virgil: Now that the dust has settled (pun intended lol), did Rockin’ the Trails meet or exceed your expectations?

Claude: We could not have expected more out of this event…it couldn’t have been more perfect. The weather was perfect. The spectators were perfect. The ride was perfect. Everything was perfect—we did not have one hiccup.

When we were planning this, we were expecting so many things from this event. All three parties involved were probably a little surprised that everything rolled out as planned, with virtually no exceptions.

Virgil: How did you hook up with Jason McCoy?

Claude: I came up with the concept of a concert to draw a lot of attention to the wonderful riding opportunities of the Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance as a premier riding destination, and how it was a good fit with country music star Larry Berrio. Since I had already worked with him, I reached out to Larry, bounced the idea off him, and then asked if he could put me in touch with Jason McCoy (since they were good friends). Larry connected us, and the rest is history. In terms of powersports for the province of Ontario, Larry and Jason are the best of the best…they are truly powersports enthusiasts at heart.

Virgil: If the numbers were close to accurate, we had 1000 ATVs participating. Is that the largest ride of its kind in Ontario?

Claude: I believe that with the numbers we received, 1050 participated in the ride, and about 300 additional people came to the concert for a total of roughly 1300, give or take a few. This would make it Ontario’s largest ATV rally, which is truly incredible.

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