Snowmobile Northern Corridor For Late Season Riding…
Zeverly Loop Bridge photo © by Craig Nicholson
Related: More Northern Corridor
Ontario law requires a snowmobile entering an OFSC Prescribed Snowmobile Trail to display a valid Ontario Snowmobile Trail Permit.
Why not Snowmobile Northern Corridor Northeastern Ontario this spring for your final Ontario snowmobile tour or snowmobile vacation?
Your last snow machine ride of the year can also be your best, so here’s everything you need to know about spring sledding in Northeastern Ontario’s Northern Corridor…so head north right away! Meanwhile, if you’re interested in other Ontario snowmobile tour destinations, check out the rest of
Why Go in Spring to Snowmobile Northern Corridor Northeastern Ontario?
Frozen Dam near Smooth Rock Falls photo © by Craig Nicholson
This is the best wide-open trail riding in Ontario. Cochrane, the Gateway to the Northern Corridor, is only a 7 to 8 hour trailer drive north of the Greater Toronto Area on good highways all the way. Yes, other Ontario snowmobile tour destinations may still have trails available, but often with bare roads, unsafe ice or snow that’s fast disappearing.
Going to the Northern Corridor for your last outing of the year is the most certain way to guarantee a good ride because this region is the least susceptible to spring thaw. So it’s very likely that the snow won’t be melting under your tracks or that bare trails will prevent you from getting back to your staging hotel.
Also you can rack up big miles in a relatively short time frame if that’s your goal, including riding well-established snow tours like the Abitibi Canyon Loop, Gateway to the North Loop, Lumberjack Loop, and the Missinaibi Loop, all part of the Northern Corridor Adventure Tour.
Where To Stay When You Snowmobile Northern Corridor Northeastern Ontario
Mattagami River photo © by Craig Nicholson
Cochrane – Thriftlodge. Good roadside motel with hot tub and sauna, sled parking in front of rooms, ample parking, Terry’s Restaurant/bar on site. Located on Highway 11 just south of town. Fuel across the road. Direct trail access from TOP A.
Kapuskasing – Comfort Inn. Located along Highway 11 across from TOP Trail A, this Comfort Inn offers sled parking in front of ground floor rooms and free hot breakfast. Hotel offers 10% discount at Casey’s Restaurant.
Hearst – Companion Hotel Motel. Two hot tubs, sauna, heated sled garage and on site restaurant and bar make this bilingual hotel a must-stay. Direct trail access from TOP A (cross railway tracks near town and take 1st local trail on left, which leads to fuel/convenience store and to the hotel at the end.)
Where To Fuel When You Snowmobile Northern Corridor Northeastern Ontario
Esso (Cochrane); Smoothy’s (Smooth Rock Falls); Opaz Gas (Opasatika); Shell (Hearst). Fuel also available in Kapuskasing, Moonbeam, Mattice.
Where To Ride When You Snowmobile Northern Corridor Northeastern Ontario
Northern Corridor runs over 300 kilometres from Cochrane to Hearst via TOP Trail A. Along the way, there are two well-marked loops. The Lumberjack is 145 km around Kapuskasing, and the Missanabie Expedition Tour is 165 km out of Hearst. These allow you to take alternative trails so you don’t have to go out and back on TOP A both ways.
There is also a really good (well signed but unnamed) loop in the Moonbeam area – take L119 north from TOP A to L125 (not marked on district map because it came on stream after the map was printed) and then follow L125 north of Remi Lake back to TOP A.
TOP A103 photo © by Craig Nicholson
Hot Tips When You Snowmobile Northern Corridor Northeastern Ontario
- The clubhouses at Moonbeam and Mattice close for the season by April.
- Even if District 15 grooming operations stop by early April, their trail base is so deep that trails should stay in decent shape for at least another week to ten days after that, maybe longer.
- Do not ride the Abitibi Canyon Loop north of Cochrane without calling first to check that gas is available at Fraserdale (705) 272-6370. Because of this question about fuel availability, TOP Trail A103 is now showing RED (Unavailable) on the OFSC Interactive Trail Guide but is still in good shape to ride as long as there’s gas.
- Since trail status can change rapidly this time of year, check the OFSC Interactive Trail Guide for the latest information before each day’s ride.
- Dress in layers so that you can take clothing off as the day warms up.
Read more about Ski-Doo tours in Ontario’s Northern Corridor!
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The tips and advice in this blog are the opinions of the author, may not work in every situation and are intended only for the convenience and interest of the reader, who has the personal responsibility to confirm the validity, accuracy and relevancy of this information prior to putting it to their own use.