Showing posts with label snowshoeing. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Ontario Trails News - find your favorite Eastern Ontario trail, and fun on the trails with EOTA

Find your favourite Eastern Ontario Trail

Family Day fun on the trails

Family Day fun

Brett Mann

This group of snowmobilers passed through Tweed from Verona on their way to Madoc on Family Day. Rear left: Ben Perry, John Morrow, Glena Salisbury and Jim Salisbury. Centre: Amy Young.

Central Hastings News

By Brett Mann

“It’s a very good deal, a chance to try it out for free if you haven’t before,” says Cindy Cassidy, general manager of the Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance. Ms. Cassidy is referring to the chance to use the trail system for free on Family Day, an opportunity eagerly seized by local snowmobilers. Season snowmobile passes can cost up to $260 says Cassidy, noting that the trails are used year round for hiking, cycling, ATV use and even dog-sledding.

“The fees depend on when they purchase it [the trail pass] and they are cheaper before November 1.”

The local network of trails extends from the Bay of Quinte to Algonquin Park and attracts 25,000 visitors annually “for the whole region we cover,” Cassidy reports. The trails generate $6 million in spending each year, the organization estimates. The trail project began in 1997 with a steering committee representing the Hastings, Quinte and Land O’ Lakes regions and became the Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance (EOTA) in 1998. The group is incorporated as a not-for-profit charitable organization.

As well as managing the trails themselves. EOTA provides maps and listings of accommodations and lodgings along the trails. Larry Palmateer grooms the snow on the trails and reports that traffic on Family Day morning was low, likely because of the extremely cold temperatures.

“There was a lot going into Tweed yesterday. Coming into Madoc today I saw only two snowmobiles but Riley [another groomer] the other day quit counting after 45. Last year I would say there was at least a ten per cent increase in traffic on Family Day,” says Palmateer adding that last year was the first time one could obtain a trail permit on-line. He is relieved to see the significant snowfalls rider have been waiting for.

“People were getting pretty antsy in December and January when there was no snow. This year there’s been a lot of later permits,” he observes. “The big thing is snow for Christmas and New Year’s. That really affects sales of permits and snowmobiles and equipment.”

By early afternoon on Family Day the groups of snowmobiles passing through Tweed on the trail were becoming more numerous.

“If it warms up they’ll be just like bumble bees,” Palmateer predicted.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Ontario Trail News - learn about accessibility communications, and all about the outdoors in Sudbury and North Bay from CBC

Download our accessible communications document

Snow sailing, snowboarding, snowshoeing make for winter fun

On Wednesday, CBC Sudbury told you about some neighbourly folks in North Bay who've been building and sharing a giant backyard luge for about 15 years now. It spans five properties, and it seems to bring the whole neighbourhood together. If you missed the story and video, check it out below:
WWW.CBC.CA

·
7 DAYS AGO
North Bay neighbours share massive backyard luge run - Sudbury ...
23 hours ago ... The so-called "Kenwood Luge" in North Bay is re-built and maintained each year by a group of neighbours. According to one of the original ...

WWW.CBC.CA
...But, recreational backyard luging is just the tip of the fun iceberg. There's a lot happening this winter in Northern Ontario!
As many in the region already know, if you fill jugs of equal size with sand or some other dense material, you can skip the fancy curling rocks and still have yourselves a DIY curling match on the lake. They're doing it from Sudbury to Dryden!
My dad and his homemade curling rink stencil. #jugcurling

CAELIE FRAMPTON

·
2 YEARS AGO
#JugCurling #IceColdPitches

KYLA MARIE

·
2 YEARS AGO
This snow sailor in the Timmins area is harnessing the wind with a colourful sail to whip around on the snow like a pro:
#NORTHERNONTARIO #CANADA #TIMMINS #SNOWFUN #SNOWSPORTS #SOUTHPORCUPINE #SOPO #SAILING #SNOW #SNOWSAILING

FUCHSIA DIAMONDS

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13 DAYS AGO
Winter camping can be a beautiful thing for those in the north with a hardy and adventurous spirit:
If people weren't playing hockey this winter, it would be a story. Here's what Canada's unofficial national game looked like recently in Elliot Lake:
#pickup #hockey #elliotlake #ontario #ighockey #instafun #fun #snow #winter #wilderness #wildcatsnation #wildcats #epic #awesome #goodtimes #love #beauty #nature

THOMAS WALLACE

·
9 DAYS AGO
These guys might be a bit young to remember Ross Rebagliati's gold medal win for Canada in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. But, Rebagliati is credited by many with putting snowboarding on the map for Canadians . The sport is now commonplace at hills around the northeast, like these ones in North Bay and Sault Ste. Marie.
#snowwars #northbay #cheapskates #cheapskatesnb @cheapskatesnb#snowboarding

ALM

·
9 DAYS AGO
Went snowboarding this weekend with these gents! #snowboarding #winter #saultcollege #saultstemarie #searchmont

MARK NUSKO

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9 DAYS AGO
Skidooing, snowmobiling, sledding—whatever you call it, it's the definitive winter Motorsport of the north. Check out these sledders in Moosonee, Manitoulin Island and North Bay.
Climbing hills in msne with a 900lbs machine #skidoo #skandic #600wt #moosonee

ADRIAN J. DELANEY

·
A MONTH AGO
Skidoo's 1973, 1997, 2010 #elan #formula #mxz #tnt #250 #600triple #600 #manitoulin #skidoo #snow #braaaaaaaap #brap #windmills

MICHAEL THURSTON

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8 DAYS AGO
200k to #northbay today. #mxz #skidoo #winter in #Ontario #enjoytheride

RON

·
8 DAYS AGO
Others are enjoying the quietude of more rudimentary winter gear: people are snowshoeing in North Bay and Sudbury.
#CranberryTrail #NorthBay #snowshoe

GIL PHARAND

·
10 DAYS AGO
Went on a little adventure #snowshoeing #winter #brewsinthebush #sudbury

TOVA GOSSLING

·
8 DAYS AGO
...And finally, perhaps the most quintessentially "northern experience" (at least in popular lore): dogsledding. Here's a video of a fellow in Moosonee who bailed off of a dog sled a few years back.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Ontario Trails News - a lot of snowmobile news, and a profile of Yours Outdoors

Lot's of snowmobiling news - check out our page!

More than a Snowshoe Hike: An Experience with ‘Yours Outdoors’

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Written by Heather Seftel-Kirk
Published on January 12, 2015

Snowshoeing is an ideal winter activity in many ways because it doesn’t take ideal conditions, it is inexpensive, and it is easy to do just about anywhere. While many people appreciate the sport for its simplicity as a get outdoors and be active kind of outing, others need more. If you’re looking to get children and teens to fully embrace the fun of a snowshoe outing, or have friends who need a reason to get out, experiential tourism with Yours Outdoors may be the answer.

Yours Outdoors

Located in the Haliburton Highlands in central Ontario, Yours Outdoors is focused on providing people with more than an outing. Experts in Experiential Tourism (not just seeing something but immersing yourself in it and becoming a part of it), the company and its guides have been bringing the outdoors alive with their unique and customizable packages since 2004.

Haliburton Highlands

Haliburton Highlands is one of the most beautiful settings in central Ontario. Famous as a tourist and cottage area, the region shares the same remote natural beauty as its neighboring Algonquin Park, combined with 600 lakes and rugged hills that gave it the highlands name (comparable to the Scottish highlands and named by early settlers).

The region boasts a strong visual and performing arts community, miles of cross-country ski trails and miles of hiking trails, perfect for snowshoeing. Many of the trails are connected to local resorts, making them very accessible, and in some cases providing stopping places along the way.

The Highlands are filled with bed and breakfast lodgings, small and larger resorts and cottage opportunities so it’s possible to find a variety of options to make a snowshoe trip here into a weekend or even week-long getaway adventure.

More than a Tour

Under the direction of Experience Broker and company owner, Barrie Martin, all of Yours Outdoors’ adventures are designed to incorporate elements of the art, culture, heritage and nature that make up the region. Martin himself uses his more than 28 years’ experience as an educational specialist backed by a degree in wildlife biology and a keen interest in the highlands to create outings that are educational, engaging and filled with local history and highlights.

Many experiences are supplemented by experts in a variety of fields who bring authentic and distinct flavor to the adventure. While some packages have been pre-planned, Martin takes pride in creating unique and interesting custom packages to suit the group, time of year and specific interests.

Experiences

One pre-set package Martin created for the regional government is called the Story of Snowshoes. This experience includes time with local snowshoe collector Craig MacDonald who shares stories about his incredible collection of heritage snowshoes, followed by a hike and the opportunity to personally compare both traditional and modern snowshoes. For a family or a group of people just being introduced to the sport, this is a great way to explore the idea that snowshoeing is about more than an aided winter walk and is a chance to connect to the history and craftsmanship at the heart of the sport.

During the Art and Syrup of Maple experience, participants take a snowshoe hike through a sugar bush to check out modern and traditional methods for collecting and processing the syrup. When the spring snow is too soft for skiing and the lake ice too thin for skating, this is a great way to spend a warm, late winter, early spring afternoon outdoors.

Martin’s Family Fun on Snowshoes experience can include active games, animal tracking and role-playing games. Experiences like this provide a great snowshoe introduction for kids because they will be engaged, entertained and active.

Another experience, called Walk into Winter, can be planned for either a full or half day. Customizable, as with everything else, the tour might include a glimpse at the history of snowshoes, a hike with tips on winter travel and survival along the way, and a campfire with a bush lunch for a truly authentic feel.

For a really unique outing, the Heritage Adventure includes a snowshoe walk to a fur trade post and a visit with an 18th century fur trader who will take you back in to Canada’s history with stories and a traditional meal of baked beans, wild rice and bannock (a traditional flatbread).

More than Just a Day Trip

For those who are looking for more of an adventure, overnight and weekend outings are a great way to fully experience nature and the region.

“Snowshoeing itself has merit,” says Martin. “But when you can add in education and interpretation, it makes it more than an activity. It makes it an experience.”

He says he gets requests from school groups who use his programming to make curriculum come alive, from families looking to create unique memories, and from groups of friends looking for an experience beyond the ordinary.

For a snowshoeing adventure that is about more than a winter hike, check outhttp://www.yoursoutdoors.ca/packages.php.

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Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Ontario Trails News - Parks Blogger Ontario and Ontario Snowshoe Running Series

Follow our newest blog partner - Parks Blogger Ontario

A real bright idea

By Kevin Gould, Cornwall Standard Freeholder

Thursday, January 8, 2015 2:06:46 EST PM

Gilles Parisien, race organizer for this Saturday's Dion Ignite the Night snowshoe race at Upper Canada Village, is ecstatic with the number of registrants for the inaugural event. Competitors will need to be wearing a head lamp (such as the one worn here by Parisien), for while the race starts under the bright lights of the Alight at Night display at UCV, much of the course is in the dark. Kevin Gould/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/QMI Agency

It will likely be the biggest snowshoe race in Ontario.

“It’s above my expectations,” said Gilles Parisien, organizer of the Dion Ignite the Night snowshoe race, taking place on Saturday at Upper Canada Village.

“My initial goal was to hopefully have 80 snowshoers, and we already have 88 registered, so we’re really happy with that.”

There are always day-of-race registrations, so topping the 100 mark for competitors is a pretty realistic goal for race organizers.

“This will no doubt be the biggest snowshoe race in Ontario,” said Parisien, who wanted to do something a little different with the event, part of the Dion Eastern Ontario Snowshoe Running Series, and the first of two local races. The other race takes place on Feb. 14, the Summerstown Forest event that is now in its third season.

Of those registered, 25 will use loaned snowshoes, something Parisien likes to see.

“That means there will be a lot of first-timers I think, which should make it really interesting,” said Parisien, who is on the Board of Directors with Snowshoe Canada.

There are plenty of local entrants, but also a sizeable crew from Ottawa, some from Toronto and the West Island, and of course, one from Panama.

Wait . . . Panama?

Part of that Ottawa contingent, in the area visiting friends, and well, why not?

“He’s never snowshoed, didn’t even have a pair of running shoes, but he’ll be trying it out,” said Parisien. “He’s signed up and ready to go.”

Parisien says the recent snowfall in the area helped bring up the number of entrants.

“I think the snow we had a few days ago really helped us — it showed people that there will be snow to race on,” said Parisien.

For race organizers, it came at the perfect time.

“It was very sketchy,” said Parisien, of making preparations for the race without the most important ingredient — snow.

“I had already mapped out a road race, because I didn’t think it would happen.”

It will though, and without the -25 temperatures experienced in the area on Wednesday evening.

“I’ve ran snowshoe races in -25, it’s not that bad,” said Parisien.

For the runners maybe, but others?

“Yeah, the snowshoers are fine, it’s the volunteers you worry about. The snowshoers are moving — after about 800 metres, they’re fine — but the volunteers are just standing out there, not moving around,” said Parisien. “It can get pretty cold.”

For Saturday’s race, temperatures are expected to be around -10, or pretty close to perfect according to Parisien.

“Ideally, I would say about -9, -10, are the best racing conditions, and that’s what they’re calling for, so we will likely have close to ideal conditions.”

The Alight the Night event at Upper Canada Village officially ended on Jan. 3, but the lights will be on for Saturday’s snowshoe run, and spectators (there is no charge) are welcome.

Much of the race though (10 km, two loops of five km), is in the dark, meaning head lamps are a necessity.

The race starts at 6 p.m., with registration starting at 4:30 p.m. at the Harvest Barn at Upper Canada Village. Aside from the 10 km. Dion Points Series Race (the first in the 2015 Dion Eastern Ontario Snowshoe Running Series), there is a five km Challenge (no series points awarded) and a children’s fun run (35 free snowshoes are available to loan).

For information on the event, or snowshoe racing in general, contact Parisien at parisiengl@sympatico.ca.