OFSC give green light for trail upgrade between the Bay and Mattawa

North Bay Snowmobile Club
News Release

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The Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) has recently approved the upgrading of the snowmobile trail designation which connects Mattawa to North Bay on the north side of the Mattawa River.

The upgraded status is now a Trans Ontario Provincial (TOP) Connector instead of local club trails. The new TOP Connector trail has been designated as TOP A112A and replaces the North Bay Snowmobilers Club NB301 trail as well as the Mattawa and Area Snowmobile Club trails MA105 and MA101 and will be shown as such on the new District 11 Trail Map.

The new TOP Collector tail is 91 kilometres in length and connects to the TOP A trail south of Mattawa and the TOP A2 trail east of Trout Lake in North Bay. The Mattawa and Area Snowmobile Club initiated the request to the OFSC with support from the North Bay Snowmobilers Club.

Jeff McGirr, Economic Development Officer for the Mattawa – Bonfield Economic Development Corporation, is very pleased with the OFSC’s decision as he thinks that the large number of touring snowmobilers will be attracted to the higher designation of TOP Connector and this will undoubtedly bring more snowmobile traffic into the Mattawa and Bonfield areas. Mr. McGirr says that the increasing popularity of the RAP (Round Algonquin Park) Tour is generating much more tourism business over the past few years, and he thinks the new TOP A112A trail designation will only help draw more sledders to this area.

In addition, the already popular loop between North Bay and Mattawa will undoubtedly increase in popularity as many snowmobilers will now travel TOP A along the south side of Highway 17 and then take the TOP A112A back along the north side of Highway 17.

The President of the North Bay Snowmobilers Club, Brian Baker, says another important impact of the new OFSC TOP Collector designation will be the increased availability of trail infrastructure funding that is available from the Ontario Tourist Development Fund. Local trails are not currently eligible for TDF funding and Mr. Baker advises that NBSC will now be applying for funding for new bridges over both Balsam Creek and the North River as a consequence of the OFSC’s upgrade in trail status.

Both the North Bay and Mattawa and Area Snowmobile Clubs have commenced selling of Trail Permits for the 2012 – 2013 snowmobiling season. For further information see www.mattawasc.ca and www.nbsc.ca

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