Make Northeastern Ontario Your In-Season Snowmobile Vacation Destination

by | Dec 12, 2016 | Big Blog, Motorsports and Touring | 0 comments

With a snowmobiling season that typically last for about 16 weeks, Northeastern Ontario has a well-deserved reputation as the best early and late season snowmobiling destination in the province. But there are plenty of good reasons for you to make Northeastern Ontario your snowmobile vacation destination throughout the entire winter.

One of these reasons is durable snow conditions and cold temperatures. Together, they render Northeastern Ontario more immune to the many weather variables that can make planning a getaway elsewhere a gamble. If you’re planning your snowmobile vacation with friends and family, it’s difficult enough to coordinate mutually agreeable dates, so dependable snow conditions in Northeastern Ontario is an important consideration. Best of all, when some of the best snowmobile trails in the province are factored into the equation, Northeastern Ontario should quickly top your short list of must-visit destinations. That was one reason—there are even more.

Unlike most other areas, this region delivers a unique combination of wide-open, wilderness trail riding (frequently on old logging roads and utility corridors) and hospitable, snowmobile-friendly communities that thrive on winter. Thus, Northeastern Ontario boasts many towns whose names are synonymous with Ontario’s best snowmobiling. These include Cochrane, Kapuskasing, Kirkland Lake, Mattawa, North Bay, Sudbury, Temiskaming Shores and Timmins in addition to many other smaller communities en route—so don’t forget to plan your ride around one of Northeastern Ontario’s outstanding winter carnivals!

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What’s more, many Northeastern Ontario municipalities are both Francophone and bilingual, offering snowmobilers a more cost and time-effective way to enjoy a different cultural flair than trailering all the way to Quebec. Your savings to visit Northeastern Ontario instead of La Belle Province start with not having to buy an additional trail permit. You can enjoy Northeastern Ontario’s more than 3,300 kilometres of trails using your Ontario permit.

Northeastern Ontario also makes an excellent, in-season snowmobile vacation destination because of easy trailering access via the Highway 400 and 11 corridors. The gateway cities of Sudbury and North Bay, each less than fours hours trailering from the Greater Toronto Area, are excellent staging locations whether you choose to ride a saddlebag exploration of Northeastern Ontario or to stay in one place for multiple day rides. Alternatively, another popular staging location for in-season saddle bagging is New Liskeard, less than two hours farther up Highway 11.

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OFSC snowmobile trails throughout Northeastern Ontario are well-marked and mapped by local snowmobile clubs so navigation is easy, even for first time visitors. Services and amenities are plentiful and trail accessible, with a good variety of accommodation choices from rustic lodges to full service hotels.

In fact, great trails and services are two of the main reasons that Northeastern Ontario is home to 10 OFSC-Promoted Snow Tours—more than any other region in the province. Varying is distance from day-ride length to multi-day saddlebag expeditions, these snow tours showcase the best of Northeastern Ontario snowmobiling in pre-defined, turnkey rides that anyone can do—just one more good reason to make Northeastern Ontario your in-season snowmobile vacation destination.

So when you’re considering a sledding destination that has it all for the entire winter, look no than Northeastern Ontario. I’ve enjoyed touring there for years and keep going back for more—and you will too!


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About Craig Nicholson

Popularly known as “The Intrepid Snowmobiler” Craig Nicholson is an International Snowmobile Hall of Fame powersports journalist, who specializes in writing about snowmobiling. As an avid snowmobiler, he logs over 12,000 kilometres (7,500 miles) on the snow most winters and has snowmobiled in every region of Canada. His one-of-a-kind tour book, “Canada’s Best Snowmobiling – The Ultimate Ride Guide”, chronicles his adventures. His Intrepid Snowmobiler blog features Canadian touring articles, sledding tips, reviews and comment. You can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter.