This might be a long post, so we’ll see where it goes. I’ve been snowmobiling for over 30 years. Growing up with my dad most of my riding was based out of the Haliburton area. As I grew older, started driving, I started riding different areas. Mostly ditch banging with buddies. It wasn’t until I was in my mid 20’s that I really started riding to put on the km.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be brought in as an admin for the most popular snowmobile Facebook group, 705 Snowmobiles, many years ago, where I got to meet some of the most incredible people that shared the same love for the sport as I did.

During this time, I’ve met some really amazing individuals, I started to see more about how clubs operate, and the challenges that they go through to make the trails we all love available to ride.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve chatted to the other group admins who I now call my best friends, and always said I’d love to ride the Cochrane area and see what the north was about. Finally, after many years of talk, Nunzio finally got me to come up north with him.

Thursday March 26th, we loaded up at 2pm and headed to Hearst. 8.5hrs later we arrived to unbeknownst to me the greatest snowmobiling I would ever experience.

We spent 4 nights in Hearst at the Companion Hotel. I got to experience some of the best snowmobiling Ontario has to offer, and boy oh boy that was an understatement.

Friday, we managed to rack up 240 of local trails boasting a 15/10 condition. Absolutely incredible. We had lunch at Jacks Corner Store in Mattice where we met Tammy and talked about her restaurant and the sport. Excellent company, and absolutely to die for poutine!

Saturday, we left the companion and rode to Hornepayne and back, stopping along the way to admire the scenery and to chat about our ride and the trail conditions. 15/10 day. 376km to end the day.

Sunday, we left the hotel and headed to the Moonbeam clubhouse for lunch. Just when I thought the riding couldn’t be better, I was yet again amazed. The clubhouse was absolutely spectacular. Beautiful inside and out. Food was incredible and the staff were extremely friendly and welcoming. Another 340km day.

Monday morning, after loading the sleds Sunday night, we headed to Cochrane so I could experience the canyon loop. However, due to some warm temps and some questionable gas in my sled, I was experiencing some serious belt slippage in my renegade x 1200, so we decided we would ride to Smooth Rock Falls for lunch and do a couple local little trails. We were expecting to rack another 200 or so km to finish the riding season. However, in true fashion as a rider and knowing the season was coming to an end, we decided we were going to keep riding and check out some other spots. Nunzio took me up the east side of the canyon to island falls to feed some birds. While trails had definitely seen some traffic, and polar bears being down a groomer, trails were not as bad as expected.

Due to some poor planning from my chaperone, we did not account for our fuel needed for our return trip down the canyon😂😂. Thankfully Nunzio had his LINQ fuel caddy, and after running out of fuel, we split the difference in his LINQ to get us back to town. What was supposed to be a short ride, turned into another 340km, no complaints from me, but now understand the importance of carrying a fuel caddy when riding up this way.

We arrived back to the Westway later in the day, where I got to meet some other sledheads. I was able to meet the famous Kenny from Polar Bear Riders and catch up with an old friend Mike from Sledaddicz.

Sorry for the incredibly long post, I wanted to share my first time experience to those who have experienced it, and to those who are thinking about it. Absolutely incredible experience riding up here and I can’t say a single bad thing about this trip.

I want to thank every landowner, volunteer, business that helped make my first time up here the best of the best. I’ve attached some photos, some of which I’ve shared already, but I hope you all enjoy. Thanks for an incredible season!

Story and Photos Provided By: Terry B.