20th Anniversary Season!
January 2015
2015 SNOWARAMA FOR EASTER SEALS KIDS CROSSES BORDERS!
Thunder Bay has Lots of Snowmobile History Abitibi Temiscamingue, Quebec: A Snowmobile Paradise Togwotee Adventures offers ideal way to see Jackson Hole in winter, Snowmobiling, but safety is key
Exciting New Snowmobile Products For You!
NORTH SUPERIOR PUBLISHING INC.
Quebec Snowmobiling at It’s Best: Motoneige, Motoneige!
Quebec Snowmobiling at It’s Best: Motoneige, Motoneige! BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
NW Ontario Snowmobile News When you mention to another snowmobiler you are going on a snowmobile trip to Quebec you see their faces light up immediately. There is definitely something special about Quebec and snowmobiling. I was able to experience first hand “motoneige” in the Lanaudiere and Mauricie regions.
This 5 star beautiful, resort featured a great room with fireplace, Jacuzzi and king bed. The resort had a fantastic dining room and offers exceptional food on an all-inclusive basis. The Auberge is a 1 1/2 hour from Montreal. You can leave your sled inside in a garage at the resort as well. My trip began here with dinner with Marc-Oliver Guilbault, Tourism Marketing
city and goes north 800 km. On the east is the Mauricie region and to the west is the Laurentian area. “ In Lanaudiere we have the pioneer trail in Quebec. In fact the first mile of trail is in the village of St Jean de Matha where we are right now. Those crazy guys wanted to go from Quebec City to the Laurentians and this was the first start. Now we have 33,000 kilometers in Quebec, 2300 km in Lanaudiere and 2500
My journey began with Air Canada flights to Toronto and Montreal and then a stop at the National Rental Car location to pick up my GMC Yukon. The flights were a little delayed with weather and I began my 1 1/2 drive to the village of St-Jean de - Matha and the Montagne Coupee resort for the start of my trip. Montreal is located on an island and during the rush hour many people want to get off the island to go home for the evening. It can mean some traffic delays so you are best to plan you arrival mid day to make your drive to the north much quicker. The traffic from the Montreal airport is busy before 10 am and after 3 pm. Quebec is where the snowmobile business really got started and you can always sense the excitement of people there when they talk about the sport. The people of the regions were so very friendly to me my whole time and it was fun to learn some of their language.
Counselor for Tourisme Lanaudiere and Andre Corbeil who would be my snowmobile guide on the trip. Andre started snowmobiling in 1962 with a Bombardier as his first machine. He is almost crazy about the sport at age 70 and usually drives 8000 km per year.
My first and last day stays were at the beautiful Auberge de la Montagne Coupee.
The tourism region Lanaudiere starts at the frontier of Montreal just north of the
km in the Mauricie regions,” said MarcOliver Guilbault. “ All the trail system is linked or connected in Quebec. The St Lawrence River is the only area where it is not connected. There are 22 tourist regions in Quebec. Most of the regions have snowmobiling. It was interesting to meet so many Europeans when riding on the trails in these regions. Many Europeans fly to Montreal and drive up to our regions each year. They rent sleds with many over 600 available. There is one dealer alone here that has 600 Ski doo snowmobiles avail-
able to rent according to Marc-Oliver Guilbault. The sleds rent for approximately $220 per day, which includes the trail permit fee. In Quebec if you purchase a whole year permit it is $300, although before December 9th you save $60 off the price. Also available is a 1 week permit at $150 and 3 days $90. “ The beauty of our regions is you have two possibilities for riding. You can do a saddlebag trip and ride from location to location or some people like to stay at the same place and do some loops. This is a possibility. When you do loops you can do 7 different loops without passing by the same trail. You could ride for 7 days on different loops each day. The shortest loop is 100km and you can go up to 300 km. If you go to the Mauricie region there are more loops available so the possibilities are many.” smiles Marc-Oliver Guilbault. “ I like the snow conditions here. The trail PAGE 2
SNOWMOBILE NEWS JANUARY 2015
system has grooming everyday through the region that has 17 clubs. The biggest clubs covers 900 km and have 8 groomers at work. In Lanaudiere alone we have over 7000 permit holders. In a good snow year our season runs from mid December to mid March.” After a great breakfast the next day we were off to pick up our snowmobiles at the rental company, Les Motoneiges GR Gero, a very friendly dealership which allows you to enter quickly to the trails. My ride with guide Andree was what is known as a saddlebag ride for 4 days. You have your packsack with some extra clothes and your Ski Doo Grand Touring 600 ETEC sled. Each day our journey began on the beautiful trails of the Lanaudiere and Mauricie regions with our destination being a new Auberge each night. The variety of the terrain and location of the trails made for a very interesting ride of around 700 km over the next 4 days. Our first day’s destination that night was Au Pays de Real Masse Famous Out fitter. This is a famous resort in the area owned by Real Masse, a former golden gloves boxing champion who has a passion for the outdoors. The riding day was great with some beautiful scenery along the way. Very impressive to me was the amount of excellent lodging opportunities on the area trails that cater to snowmobilers. In fact they welcome snowmobilers and make you feel right at home. One stop on our ride was the Pourvoirie Lac Blanc owned by Gaston Pellerin, President. “ We started construction in 1994 and in 1995 opened on our 6800 acres and 10 lakes here on private land. Our resort has 70 rooms including 12 cottages so we can receive 140 people at the same time. We have an inside pool and they can profit
from the pool and Jacuzzi. Almost 60% of our guests come from France and the United States and the rest from Quebec,” smiles Gaston Pellerin. “ They can do ice fishing, dog sleigh riding and snowmobiling for a 1/2 or 1 day and come back here overnight if they choose. They can start from here and stay at another place, St Elie that is a special big log house my father built 40 years ago as a chalet. It has 7 rooms and 7 bathrooms. In the summer they come here to fish to the end of June, then kayak and after that in August come here by floatplane. I was in the forest business before but the business went down and we stopped and made the hotel for the people all over the land. It is going very well. I love it. We want people from Ontario to come here.”
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www.slednews.com 2015 SNOWARAMA FOR EASTER SEALS KIDS CROSSES BORDERS! BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
NW Ontario Snowmobile News Grab your helmets and winter gear because the coolest snowmobile event hits the trails on Saturday, February 7, kicking off the 2015 fundraising season for Easter Seals Ontario. Once again, the Thunder Bay
Snowarama for Easter Seals Kids will head south of the border to Grand Portage, only 45 minutes from Thunder Bay, attracting snowmobilers from across northwestern Ontario and Minnesota to enjoy some of the finest groomed trails in northern Minnesota. “We are looking forward to another successful winter fundraising season by hosting Snowarama events for winter sports enthusiasts across the province,” says Carol Lloyd, President & CEO of Easter Seals Ontario. “We are grateful to the community of Grand Portage for their long-standing support to help kids with physical disabilities experience greater acceptance, independence and integration.” All Snowarama participants will enjoy a
complimentary dinner and the Saturday night dance, featuring the Bed of Roses. Snowarama is truly a family event: participants can enjoy the trails, a heated pool and sauna, as well as other amenities at Grand Portage Lodge & Casino. Minnesota trail permits are $36 (available at Ryden’s 66) and will be required for those riders that
physical disabilities across Ontario. For more than 90 years, Easter Seals has played an important role in providing support for children and youth with physical disabilities from all ethnic and religious backgrounds. Thanks to its generous donors, Easter Seals continues to offer programs to allow kids to experience freedom, independence and a
visit www.easterseals.org or snowarama.org. Zachary Pylychuk, Easter Seals Ambassador “ It is fun to see the same people and help raise money each year at Snowarama. Easter Seals is important to me because it helps kids just like me with physical disabilities. I find snowmobiling
venture off the Grand Portage Reserve trails. The event is generously sponsored by Grand Portage Lodge and Casino, the Grand Portage Trail Riders, and the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Over the past 12 years, Grand Portage Lodge and Casino Snowarama has raised over $290,000 for children and youth with
sense of accomplishment. Easter Seals helps by providing financial assistance for mobility equipment, communication devices and summer camp opportunities at its two properties, Camp Merrywood and Camp Woodeden. Together we make a difference for kids in the community who need our help. For more information or to donate,
fun and exciting and might get a chance to ride at Grand Portage.” Frank Vecchio Marketing Manager for Grand Portage. “ This is our 12th year with Snowarama and every year it is growing. We are hoping to reach $36,000 in funds raised this year. All the dollars stay in Thunder Bay and it is a great cause.” “ The trails look good right now. We have 100 miles of groomed trail on the reservation land. If you stay on our land for a shorter run you don’t need a permit. The longer run goes to the Gunflint where you will need a Minnesota trail permit which is $36 for the year. The long run starts at 8am and the short run at 10am. After riding we have a buffet of roast beef and then the number one Bon Jovi tribute band in North America. Our trails are well groomed by the trust land department of Grand Portage. The gas price is now at 65 cents a litre in Grand Portage!”
President
Miranda Bolt Graphic Designer
Sonia Rutter 807-631-4244
Sonia Rutter 807-631-4244
SNOWMOBILE NEWS JANUARY 2015
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Thunder Bay has Lots of Snowmobile History BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
NW Ontario Snowmobile News Recently during the holiday season I spent some time organizing my files and came across some great reminders of the early days of snowmobiling in the Thunder Bay area. Many of you snowmobile addicts, like I am, will probably remember these events as well.
The Thunder Bay waterfront has a lot of activity going on these days with the new Prince Arthur’s Landing development opening. There is outdoor skating and some great artwork to view. Many years ago I remember going to snowmobile races on the frozen waterfront. These races included the start of long distance events and even included some dragster
type high horsepower machines. In other areas near the city such as
Murillo there were oval races quite regularly as well. I also vividly remember races
I attended at the CLE grounds which were really quite big events. A list of entries in the Molson’s Sno Pro 1985 reads like a who’s who of snowmobiling royalty including: Brad Hulings, Jim Dimmerman, Greg and Jeff Goodwin, Frans Rosenquist, Dave Wahl, Steve, Allen, Mike, Chuck and Audrey Decker, Dale Loritz and Bobby Donahue. They also held motorcycle races on ice similar to what we still see today in our area. Amazingly I met Audrey and Dick Decker in Thunder Bay recently when they came through on one of their snowmobile tours. Also this past November I met the son of the Goodwin who had a terrible motocross accident which has cut short his snocross career. Snowmobilers keep carrying on in the sport today which is a good thing! The sleds now are much more elaborate but the enthusiasm of the riders is still the same.
Togwotee Adventures offers ideal way to see Jackson Hole in winter, Snowmobiling, but safety is key In honor of International Snowmobile Safety Week, Jan. 17-25, 2015, here is some info. and tips for those that may be considering a trip to the mountains this winter. Incredible scenery, pristine snow, and the adrenaline-surging speed, power and grace of a high-powered snowmo-
bile as its whisks you through the white powder makes snowmobiling in Jackson Hole, WY this time of year ideal.
groomed snowmobile trails. Crown jewel of off-road roaming in Jackson Hole is Togwotee Adventures, a rider’s nirvana, beginner or veteran. Stunning
• Snowmobiling and alcohol don’t mix; don’t drink and ride • Know before you go; always check local ice conditions
views of the majestic Teton Mountain Range surround riders through this adrenaline rush experience.
• When night riding, slow down and expect the unexpected • Ride safe, respect your environment and private property • Cross roads with care • Ride smart, ride right, always stay in control • One is the loneliest number; never ride alone • Know the risks and be prepared; be avalanche smart
Northwest Wyoming is known as one of the world's top snowmobile destinations. Bridger-Teton National Forest offers 2.5 million acres of varied mountain terrain and 600 miles of
With snowmobiling as the popular past time in Jackson Hole this time of year, safety is paramount. In recognition of International Snowmobile Safety Week, Jan. 17-25, 2015, Togwotee Adventure’s family of guides would like to offer a few do’s and don’ts that should be top-of-mind for every rider:
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SNOWMOBILE NEWS JANUARY 2015
Exciting New Snowmobile Products For You! BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
NW Ontario Snowmobile News The snowmobile season is now in full swing! Recently I visited four dealers in Thunder Bay to find out about some new products they were excited about this year. Excalibur Motorcycle Works of Thunder Bay Eric, Parts Manager “ Drift Innovation has a new line of cameras you can attach to your helmet. They can be used for snowmobiling, skiing, motorcycling, atv’ing, snorkeling- so many uses.”
The Drift product has a mounting system where you can have the camera positioned anywhere you want and then turn the lenses to properly orient the picture. You can mount it anywhere. You record all the action and can even play it back on your TV because it has a HDMI outlet on the back. The unit allows for a large memory card, say 64 gigs, and you get a long record time in HD. The cost is $449.00 for the Ghost model. The Stealth model is smaller in size and $298. “ All kinds of people are using these cameras today, even fishing, anywhere you could use a video camera. It is small, fits in your pocket and takes still pictures as well.” North Country Cycle & Sports Jessica Stevens, Parts “ The 509 has been a hot product this yearboth helmets and goggles. The lightness of the helmet, with a starting weight of 1260 grams, is impressive. The combination with the 509 goggle and Altitude helmet we sell are designed to fit perfectly togeth-
J&J Sports Dustin Krezonski Sales “ The PPS Micro Start kit has been a great product for us this year. It is a boost pack which also has a flashlite on it. You can charge your phone, computer or any electronic item with different computer
adapters, cell phone chargers and USB plugs. It will boost a car, truck, ATV or snowmobile and can be carried right with you.” “ If the battery goes dead on the trail you have this unit that will get you going again. If you are out on your ATV and the battery goes dead this will allow you to start the unit. Most of the new ATV’s don’t have a pull cord now.” “ The cost is $185 and has been very well received by our customers here at J & J Sports.”
snowmobile is running. It pulls all that air from the under the hood across the clutches, getting all the hot air out from under the hood. This allows clutches to run a lot colder which helps belt life.” “ It is designed primarily for the 800 ProClimb chassis of Arctic Cat for 2012 to current but they also make a version for some Polaris models. We have sold 5 sets already and I have seen it is operation riding with one of the staff here.”
“ It has an electric motor and is wired into the electrical system of the sled. It pulls a large volume of air and even allows the motor itself to run cooler. This product works really well when the rider is boon dogging or breaking trail with lots of RPM and heat build up but the machine is only doing 10 to 20 MPH. This system creates air flow like you were doing 80 MPH, so it really cool the clutches.”
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mounts on the clutch side of the snowmobile and operates continuously while the
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er so you don’t have a draft, leaks or frost. “ 509 also sell an antifog fan that goes in your googles, drys the air out and blows it out the top. They also have so many different lenses for varying light conditions eg sunny, night riding, overcast and so on. Many people get multiple lenses when they buy their goggles because it is so easy with all the selection.” “ You are paying for a light helmet in the range of $250 to $300 but the quality is so high. The lightness makes a real difference. The perfect fit with the goggles and helmet is great as well and I don’t know of any other brand that has that. When people first pick up the helmet they are impressed with the lightness and then the perfect fit with the goggles ( price range $80 to $150)
SNOWMOBILE NEWS JANUARY 2015
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Abitibi Temiscamingue, Quebec: A Snowmobile Paradise BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
NW Ontario Snowmobile News The opportunity to ride the trails near Rouyn Noranda Quebec was one I jumped at right away! I have gone snowmobiling in Quebec before and I knew the trails would be great and the hospitality of the people fantastic. I was definitely accurate again this trip! My journey began with Air Canada flights to Toronto, Montreal and Rouyn. After a great night’s stay at Motel Alpin it was off to Location Blais to pick up my Ski Doo Grand Touring with a 1200 cc 4 stroke engine.
fun. Now I enjoy going out and riding with my wife. She likes it too. It is nice to enjoy the sun and good friends. Sometimes we stay over night," said Lafond. "Normally, we start riding about Dec 20th and can ride until the end of March. Sometimes, we are able to ride right up to Easter weekend. This year it is not as cold as usual and we have less snow."
We began our 4 day 900 kilometer journey saddle bag ride with meeting our guide, Yvon Lafond, a retired college administrator. The ride took us 85 km south of Rouyn on trails that were wide and smooth through beautiful scenery. "The rain two
After a great lunch, I met Guy Lauzon of Club Moto-neige Temiscamingue who along with his friends Claude and Serge would ride with me over the next two days. Before he explained, "We had many small clubs and everyone was doing their own grooming with smaller units and a small Skidoo with 2 by 4‘s as a drag. Thirty years ago we became one large club and then we were able to buy a tractor. Today we have 711 km of trails. The club is now contracting a farmer after several
weeks ago almost destroyed the trails but the groomer operators did a great job," said Yvon Lafond. "In Rouyn, we have 1000 club members. The groomers are 2 New Holland and one John Deere tractor. We share a fourth one with the ATV club." I started snowmobiling 5 years ago when I retired, as I wanted to do something quite different. Snowmobiling is very, very popular here. I said I will try it and see if it is
public tenders to do our grooming. We rent the tractors and use our track system. Our trail groomers work 24 hours a day when it is stormy. One of our main machines is a John Deere tractor 6700- 150 HP worth about $150,000." Guy Lauzon went on. "We have to rationalize the machinery usage all year round. You can tell the trails are better with our approach. We have local, regional and provincial trails. The
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trails are all maintained on the same schedule." The Club Moto-neige Temiscamingue has 700 members this year with some of its smaller years at 400 members. A trail permit costs $285 and if you are caught on the trail without it, the penalty is $350. Before Dec 9th, you pay $235. A weekly pass is $175. It was exciting riding with Guy, Serge and Claude! These two days of riding were perhaps the best of my career. We followed many types of trails, including traveling along old railway beds, through trees, onto lakes and into wide open farmer’s fields. A great destination was seeing La Grand Chute which is a fast moving rapid on the river. There were covered historic bridges, and even large power dams to see. After exceptional sunny days of riding our home base was Domaine Temi Kami, a beautiful cottage resort in Duhamel-Ouest. This is a beautiful area of the region!
My next guide was Paul Levesque , President of the club in Val-d’Or. Levesque sells tractors for a living after 20 years in the mining industry and 6 years in the excavation business. Val-d’Or, sometimes which is known as known as the Valley of Gold had received lots of snow in November. This club can open trails just before Christmas and stays open until April 12th. They have 1,013 permit holders in a city of 35,000 people. The club has been in existence for 40 years and operates about 750 km of trails with 4 groomers. " We have one tractor, 2 new piston bully machines and 2 older BR180’s. We pay the groomers operators and at the end of the year we plan a schedule to get them ready for next year. We believe in well maintained
SNOWMOBILE NEWS JANUARY 2015
equipment," said Paul Levesque. Their equipment makes the trails available up to 16 hours per day. We try not to groom during the day because of the traffic. Sometimes we groom a trail 3 times per week. We attract Americans, people from Ontario and even from as far away as France. This is definitely snowmobile country!" " I admire the fact that the trails are wide and well groomed. We have a lot of good people maintaining the trials. You can do lake riding, rail beds, field and through the bush. The riders here respect the private property owners," said Levesque. This year we are down to about 30 cm of snow. Our usual is about 3 feet and we have had one foot this year. In the early season, we go on ATV’s and pack the snow. We do a great deal of preparation work on the trails to make sure they are ready to ride as soon as possible. Snowmobiling is important for tourism and commerce. The Val-d’Or economy has been based on mining gold, a good industry. Forestry is not as booming but there are still many people spending money. Tourism would be the third aspect of our economy." After another great ride to Val-d’Or, we traveled to the Auberge Harricana resort to spend the night. It is a very impressive large log cabin structure that caters to snowmobile visitors from as far away as France. Over 20 Yamaha sleds are for rent and will guide guests throughout the region. The food and hospitality here are amazing!
Continued Next page
Abitibi Temiscamingue, Quebec: A Snowmobile Paradise BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
NW Ontario Snowmobile News Continued from previous page My last day of riding back to Rouyn will be with Nelson Laflamme, regional administrator of the Quebec Federation for Quebec trail system for Abitibi Temiscamingue and the north Quebec
region. These are two large regions which include 11 clubs, 5000 members and 3700 km of groomed trails. "The federation is the best support the clubs can have. They have the expertise and funds and can help with groomers. We have a good relationship with the Quebec and Federal governments. They help us provide the best trails we can offer to encourage tourism. They are really behind the club with the Abitibi
Temiscamingue Tourism region," said Nelson Laflamme. "There are over 200 people from France every year that come here for 1 week at Auberge Harricana and ride the region. We attract people from Michigan, Ohio, Vermont and Ontario as well. In our area, we have great temperatures, large spaces and wide, well groomed trails. We try to
make our trails 24 feet wide with good signage for safety. With even less snow this year our trails are still good. The groomers remade the trails by cutting the ice and renewing the trails."There are many entrances to the area where you can trailer your sleds and leave the trailers. You come from Montreal, Ottawa and Muskoka." We have a really nice trail from Cochrane to our area. You could leave with your sleds from Kirkland Lake, Haileybury, Cochrane and North Bay. You will be well accepted everywhere here. People will be proud to receive you and take care of you while you are here." said Nelson Laflamme. During my riding, I encountered some Southern Ontario riders who come to the
February 8th, 2015
Abitibi Temiscamingue region to ride each year. "We come because of the snow conditions, the hospitality and the people. The season tends to run longer and the trail system is really good. It takes us three hours to drive to Temiscamingue and then we had a day riding to get to Rouyn, Noranda. We will do 4 days of riding and travel 1400 km at least." said Ted Smith of Bracebridge, Ontario. "The trails are good except for the snow drought areas. The atmosphere here is great with very friendly people. Even with the language barrier the local people are more than willing to communicate with you. We have been coming here for 5 or 6 years." " In Muskoka, there is so much traffic that by noon the trails are rough. You are also constantly meeting sleds on the trail. Here we don’t see as many sleds. We love the fact that the trails are always in good shape from the beginning of the day to the end of the day for all four days. The trails are in great shape." said Gord Tanner of Muskoka.
My snowmobile trip ended back up at the Motel Alpin where it had started. It was one of my best rides ever. The trails were great, my Ski Doo Grand Touring a fantastic sled for this type of riding and most importantly the people here are very special. Their genuine nature was indeed something that I will always remember! Special thanks to Nicole Gaulin of Tourisme Abitibi Temiscamingue for her help in setting up this trip. Also thanks go to the fantastic guides with me, Yvon, Guy, Claude, Serge, Paul and Nelson for their help. The Motel Alpin, Domaine Temi Kami, and Auberge Harricana were great places to stay. Also many thanks to Location Blais for such a great sled to ride! For further information visit www.tourisme-abitibitemiscamingue.org or 1-800-808-0706 Merci beaucoup!
SNOWMOBILE NEWS JANUARY 2015
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Quebec Snowmobiling at It’s Best: Motoneige, Motoneige! BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
NW Ontario Snowmobile News Continued From Page 2 On the second day of riding guide Andre and I experienced some more pretty trails. Our destination that evening was Auberge de Flores located in a village near Shawinigan. Former Prime Minister Jean Chrieten lives about 10 minutes from this location. “ It was originally a house when they started to receive families to
stay over and decided to start an auberge with 8 rooms and then an expansion to 16 rooms. 20 years ago a larger kitchen and a spa centre were added. 10 years ago more rooms to total 34 and a conference centre for up to 250 people were added.We have the only spa here and one of the first in the center of Quebec. Many people come here from France each year. We do cater to snowmobilers and are adjacent to the track. We have the trail passes and can help you rent a sled if you need to,” said Valerie Duchemim,
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Front Desk Clerk. “ I have been working in larger hotels for 7 years in Quebec City and just moved back to my home town. I like working in the smaller Auberge because it is more welcoming and you have time to talk to people. It is like a big house. It is 4 star but very warm and welcoming. Our dining room is one of the best-rated restaurants in the area. In the winter we offer Him and Her packages. The women go to the spa and men ride or they stay together.”
sleds to continue on their ride. They were having a fun time for sure!
Our last auberge on the trails was Auberge du Trappeur located in StMatthieu du Parc. This property had an animal theme and featured many native artifacts available for purchase. Most interesting about the property was the large museum featuring over 140 animals in the basement. The owners Mario and Anie Desaulniers have invested over $400,000 of their money in this exhibit, which is of the same quality you would find in museums in say Ottawa or Winnipeg. It is excellent to see!
On the trail were many riders from Europe who annually make the trip to Quebec to snowmobile or Motoneige. In Europe the sport isn’t easy to do so they seem to really cherish their time in Quebec. The sport is so big there are many snowmobile operators in the area that have sleds for rent on a daily basis. It was fun to talk to these riders on the trails and I enjoyed their singing “ Motoneige, Motoneige” when they started up their
SNOWMOBILE NEWS JANUARY 2015
My trip to Quebec and the Lanaudiere and Mauricie regions was so much fun for me. I would like to thank the Quebec Tourism and the Lanaudiere and Mauricie regions for their help on this trip. Also thanks to my auberge hosts over the trip and especially guide Andre who really made a great route to cover on my journey. I look forward to returning to Quebec next winter for another great motoneige adventure! see www.lanaudiere.ca and www.tourismemauricie.com for more information