Why Wait?—3 Places You Can Ride #OntarioSnowTrails Now!
By Chelsey Hennig
Chelsey is a lifelong gearhead who grew up in Northern Ontario, with a passion for motorsports.
April 9, 2019
There is literally nothing worse than waiting on Mother Nature to deliver. After being spoiled the last two seasons, waiting for snow this year has been painful, and even unbearable for those of us who’ve bought brand new sleds and are itching to try them out. Every snowmobiler south of Sudbury is in the same boat; we're all anxiously waiting for snow, for the lakes to freeze and for those OFSC trails to open up. But if you’re like me (way too impatient!) you’ll be looking for ways to get out there as soon as possible.
Here are 3 places in Northern Ontario that have snow and whose clubs are working at opening their trails right now. Keep an eye on Wawa, Timmins and Thunder Bay, they may be your best bets for trailering up to and getting your season started!
Just a short ride up from the Michigan border, Wawa is a 9.5 hour haul north from downtown Toronto but sure to please. It’s home to endless kilometres of OFSC trails and the deep powder of the remote backcountry. Wawa is a hopeful location as it already has enough snow to ride. According to locals, the area has been hit with a bunch of snow and grooming will begin shortly if it hasn’t already. With snow and temps ranging from -10 ºC to -20 ºC forecasted for the next few weeks, planning a trip up to Wawa would be worthwhile.
Timmins is a bit of a shorter drive than Wawa if you’re coming from the GTA, about 7.5 hours. The area is known for getting crazy amounts of snow every winter and is a truly snowmobile-friendly destination. It’s big enough to offer all the urban amenities, such as restaurants, movie theatres and shopping, while small enough to allow exceptional access by snowmobile trail, a great benefit to couples and families who want multiple options for their sled trip.
If you’re reading this in Manitoba, Minnesota, Wisconsin or Northern Michigan take note: the area northwest of Lake Superior is home to some of the most epic trails around. You can ride from Kakabeka Falls to the Manitoba Border and experience over 1000 km of the most remote groomed trails in existence.
Due to highway regulations in and around the City of Thunder Bay, there are few hotels that are snowmobile friendly (ride from the hotel type deal). It’s the smaller towns that lie between Thunder Bay and the Manitoba border that you’ll want to set up at.
Much like Timmins, Thunder Bay is a larger city and offers many different options from fine dining, casual, pizza joints, ma & pa restaurants, Chinese and everything in between.
There is literally nothing worse than waiting on Mother Nature to deliver. After being spoiled the last two seasons, waiting for snow this year has been painful, and even unbearable for those of us who’ve bought brand new sleds and are itching to try them out. Every snowmobiler south of Sudbury is in the same boat; we're all anxiously waiting for snow, for the lakes to freeze and for those OFSC trails to open up. But if you’re like me (way too impatient!) you’ll be looking for ways to get out there as soon as possible.
Here are 3 places in Northern Ontario that have snow and whose clubs are working at opening their trails right now. Keep an eye on Wawa, Timmins and Thunder Bay, they may be your best bets for trailering up to and getting your season started!
Just a short ride up from the Michigan border, Wawa is a 9.5 hour haul north from downtown Toronto but sure to please. It’s home to endless kilometres of OFSC trails and the deep powder of the remote backcountry. Wawa is a hopeful location as it already has enough snow to ride. According to locals, the area has been hit with a bunch of snow and grooming will begin shortly if it hasn’t already. With snow and temps ranging from -10 ºC to -20 ºC forecasted for the next few weeks, planning a trip up to Wawa would be worthwhile.
Timmins is a bit of a shorter drive than Wawa if you’re coming from the GTA, about 7.5 hours. The area is known for getting crazy amounts of snow every winter and is a truly snowmobile-friendly destination. It’s big enough to offer all the urban amenities, such as restaurants, movie theatres and shopping, while small enough to allow exceptional access by snowmobile trail, a great benefit to couples and families who want multiple options for their sled trip.
If you’re reading this in Manitoba, Minnesota, Wisconsin or Northern Michigan take note: the area northwest of Lake Superior is home to some of the most epic trails around. You can ride from Kakabeka Falls to the Manitoba Border and experience over 1000 km of the most remote groomed trails in existence.
Due to highway regulations in and around the City of Thunder Bay, there are few hotels that are snowmobile friendly (ride from the hotel type deal). It’s the smaller towns that lie between Thunder Bay and the Manitoba border that you’ll want to set up at.
Much like Timmins, Thunder Bay is a larger city and offers many different options from fine dining, casual, pizza joints, ma & pa restaurants, Chinese and everything in between.
I am a lifelong gearhead who grew up in northern Ontario, with a passion for virtually anything with a motor. I am the Public Relations and Communications director for the International Women’s Diesel Association and have my Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.