Leave the Traffic Behind! Top 10 Reasons to Commute to the Cottage by Sled

Blizzards that bring GTA traffic to a halt, frost quakes that crack and shake your home at night, freezing rain and now, a weather pattern called the polar vortex. All over Ontario, from Ottawa to Sarnia, Port Perry to Port Loring, winter has just slammed us this year. A nightmare for some, but for the many Ontarians that call themselves snowmobile enthusiasts, this year might be the best that they've seen in many, many years.

Have you ever driven by the high school in Haliburton or Gravenhurst, or any rural area for that matter, and noticed the line-up of sleds outside? Those are some lucky kids!! Likely you even know of a few adults who are fortunate enough to be able to get to work via sled as well, but have you ever considered all the different reasons why it would be cool to commute to the cottage? 

We have come up with the TOP TEN Reasons Why it's a Great Idea to Commute to the Cottage on Your Sled:

# 10 - A weekend commute is the perfect excuse to turn an ordinary weekend into an long weekend. For instance, our group chose to leave on the Thursday of the Family Day weekend, giving us, in essence, a 4-day weekend with riding ensured on both travel/commute days. 

# 9 - When you get to the cottage and turn up the heat—you're dressed for it and can peel off the layers as it warms up. You won't notice how cold it is at all. Turn the oven on too and get it warmed up to get ready for dinner.

# 8 - If you aren't really interested in cooking, plan B is: when you arrive, you light the fire or crank the heat, but you don't have to unload the sleds to head to your favourite cottage-country eatery for a quick bite—you're already dressed to go. We usually make it a Friday night ritual to hit the Pattie House in Coboconk for their Friday Prime Rib Special. Just toss the luggage inside to warm up and away you go.

# 7 - Riding to the cottage counts as km and saddle time, so the little jobs that dip into "trail time" are more bearable, like shovelling snow off the roof or clearing the driveway and all of the other little jobs on the "honey do list" that seem to take up valued riding time. 

# 6 - It saves on fuel because snowmobiles use much less fuel than trucks hauling trailers, especially when they're travelling on snow covered roads dodging the blades of the oncoming plows. Instead of snowy truck tracks, you get to look at wildlife tracks!! 

# 5 - When Dave Phillips of Environment Canada or the fellow on The Weather Channel tell horror stories of white-out conditions and accidents blocking the road, you just sail on up the freshly-groomed trail… where the only back up to hinder your progress is stopping to watch some deer cross the path. 

# 4 - Your kids will be the coolest amongst their pals for riding up, and the bonus to that is they won't be watching video games or texting—they'll be enjoying Ontario's winterscape and having some quality family time. 

# 3 - Since you are packing light for saddlebags, you won't be faced with much laundry when you return home because your teens won't be emptying their closets to pack every piece of clothing that they own. Saddlebags have limitations and sometimes, that's a good thing.

# 2 - Your kids will actually want to come with you so that you are never faced with coming home to the residue of a crazy house party that got out of control and now has damaged neighbourhood relations beyond repair. 

And the Number One Reason to commute on your sled to the cottage is…

Why would you even want to waste time sitting behind a steering wheel when you can be sitting on your trusty iron? I mean after all, we're Sledders!

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