A snowy winter means less driving and more riding for local snowmobile enthusiasts. 

This year’s record-breaking amount of snow in Waterloo region is prompting more snowmobilers to stay closer to home, while boosting business for local restaurants near snowmobile trails.

Mike Isenberg, president of Kitchener-based social media account and e-commerce platform Sledaddicz, says the snowfall has allowed him to snowmobile on local trails much earlier than usual.

“My first ride was actually in mid-December, I think it was Dec. 13, which is unheard of. I’ve never ridden around home that close to home in years. And that’s what the early snowfall awards us,” he said.

He said trails in southern Ontario aren’t typically open until January.

“Maybe if we’re lucky, it’ll be, you know, first, second week of January,” he said.

The extra month has expanded what Isenberg describes as a short window of opportunity to go snowmobiling.

It also allowed the Ontario trail network to open earlier than previous years, allowing snowmobilers to travel all over Ontario.

“Ontario has a massive network of 30,000 plus kilometers of trail and, you know, the more snowfall that accumulates around Ontario, the less people have to travel to specific areas of Ontario to actually go snowmobiling,” he said.

He added the sport is a big draw for tourism, a “huge driver for the economy” and benefits many local businesses.

“The harder the winter that we have as far as snowfall, the better off it is for snowmobilers again who are excited and are going to be out there using our trail system, having fun, enjoying themselves, as well as for the businesses and communities and townships that it supports.”

‘Boost’ to business

Along the local network of trails are restaurants that thrive off the localized snowmobiling.

Tobey Deys, the general manager of Joanie’s Neighbourhood Restaurant near Belwood, says the restaurant first opened last year in April. At first, they were unsure about how business would be in the winter. 

“We were a little, you know, reticent to opening in the winter or not because the history of this place. Generally, over the years, they would close in the winter time simply because they just felt there wasn’t enough business,” she said. “It’s hard to kind of keep it going in the winter.”

Before the restaurant was bought by new owners, it was previously known as Belwood Super Snax.

This year, Deys says the wintry weather has brought a “boost to the business.” 

“We’ve discovered that on the weekends, especially with all this snow, the snowmobilers are so excited. A lot of the trails around here are open. And so, on the weekends, particularly the last three weekends, well, since we’ve had this big dump of snow, we have been busy right up until, you know, 4:00 in the afternoon,” she said.

During the week, she says the restaurant sees 20 to 25 guests come through in a day, but the number of guests triples on the weekends.

Another restaurant near Elora has noticed the impact of this year’s snow, too. Michelle Forster, front of house manager at Gorge Country Kitchen, says they’ve seen a lot of snowmobilers this year.

“The snowmobilers, they’re great to have come in. They just add that little bit of extra, you know, especially in the slow months because we’re in a tourist town,” Forster said.

She says January and February tend to be slower months and the large amounts of snow this year have helped. 

Excitement ‘huge right now’

Ontario Snowmobile Safety Week runs this week, Feb. 9 to 16, and police are reminding riders to follow rules like carrying a valid driver’s licence or motorized snow vehicle operator’s licence, proof of insurance, wear proper helmets and the stay on approved trails.

Isenberg says snowmobiling is a huge sport in Ontario and this year there’s been a lot of people hoping for a “good, strong, long winter.”

For people who may be trying it for the first time, Isenberg says they should hit the trails with someone more seasoned to learn trail etiquette and “be very safe, obviously. Safety is number one.”

Isenberg says online content includes information about where snowmobilers can travel across both Ontario and Quebec.

He says he’s noticed a massive increase in his business this season and more people have been joining their social media feeds and sharing their own experiences, which is a sign the sport is growing.

“The excitement across the community is huge right now,” Isenberg said.