Five local snowmobile enthusiasts decided to go to a Deloraine Snowmobile Club meeting last winter and see if they would groom a trail around Boissevain.
The group, comprising of Graham, Don Gordon, Paul Hamilton, Doug Oliver and Keith Hole, met with the Deloraine club. Although it did not have immediate impact – no one groomed any trails last winter, as there was no snow – but they were open to the idea. The group asked if the Deloraine club would come from the Lake Max area to Boissevain, then the local Boissevain crew would look after signing.
“You need signs, where to turn, where to go, get permission from the land owners. We did all the footwork for them, so they said yes.”
Graham said they did part of it two weeks ago, and finished up on Saturday, January 26. As of Monday, January 28 it was opened up.
The trail goes from Bordertown Restaurant and heads west out of Boissevain near the railroad track and then south to the Turtle Mountain Provincial Park where it connects to the other trails. This piece is 12 miles long.
“It will make it nice for people who want to come for lunch or get fuel at the Co-op C-store. That’s why you need it right there,” Graham said.
They are working to find spots for trailers to park, but there are lots of options in that area.
Graham said they had all of the signs up, although they would like to put up a kiosk showing the map of all the trails in the area at Lake Max. It will show where you can get gas and lodging. It will not be up until next year, but they will have printed maps with all of the details available in the community.
He added Deloraine was good to work with and are likely to keep grooming the trail in the future. They get paid by SnoMan for all the trails they groom, so Graham feels it will be an ongoing thing.
He figures it has been close to ten years since they have had a trail connected to town, and he thinks it is good to have it back. They are happy to get the snow this past week, as some spots were a little thin.
The trail, numbered 533, now appears on the SnoMan website for people to check out. It is now the only one connected to the park to the north. Graham reminds everyone you have to have a SnoMan pass to ride on these trails.
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff