FIRST SNOW MORE FUN FOR FOREST TRAIL BIKING
Winter has arrived in Eastern Ontario with two rounds of snowfall. But it is not enough yet to make the snowmobile and ski trails ready for use, though it can make mountain biking a bit more interesting.
Louis Prevost, forestry and planning director for the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, reported that the snowmobile and cross-country ski trails in the Larose Forest won’t be ready for winter recreation yet, even with the recent snowfall.
«We need a lot more snow to make that happen,» Prevost said during a phone interview. «At least a 30-centimetre base.»
Prevost noted that overall snow conditions around the Prescott-Russell region may vary, with some areas having more snow on the ground while in other areas there are still fields that are almost bare and showing stubble. But, he added, while the trails in the community forest may not be ready yet for snowmobilers and nordic skiers to enjoy weekend outings, the mountain bike trails are still good for riders who have fatbikes to take them over the leaps and jumps along the trails.
«The bike traffic on these trails will be nuts,» Prevost said, with a chuckle, as he noted that the Larose Forest is becoming a destination point for «fat bike» trail riders from the Ottawa area and other parts of Eastern Ontario and Quebec.
«There’s nothing like this around the Ottawa area, unless they have groomed trails,» he said. «Here for fatbikes, it’s open riding all year round.»
Prevost noted that he himself enjoys getting out on the trails on a fatbike when he has the chance. «I can’t wait to go out,» he said, chuckling.