Paudash Trail Blazers

5 hours ago

ONE BRIDGE. MANY TRAILS. AN ENTIRE REGION AT RISK.

The Paudash Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club stands firmly alongside our friends and neighbours at the Maple Leaf Snow Skimmers and Opeongo Snowbirds SC as they confront the sudden closure of the Papineau Creek railway bridge on Trail 127.

Although the bridge is located within the Maple Leaf Snow Skimmers’ trail system, its closure does not affect just one club. Without a safe solution, it could remove approximately 44 kilometres of trail and sever a vital connection linking Bancroft, Lake St. Peter, Madawaska, Whitney, Cardiff, Haliburton and the surrounding trail systems.

For the Paudash Trail Blazers, it threatens the connection from Birds Creek through Baptiste Lake into our trail system, and onward to Cardiff and points west. The impact would extend far beyond 44 kilometres of trail:

• Riders could be forced to change or cancel trips.
• Local accommodations, restaurants, fuel stations and retailers would lose important winter business.
• Grooming routes and equipment access will be disrupted.
• Our communities across the region would become increasingly isolated from Ontario’s interconnected snowmobile network.

Our trails may be maintained by individual clubs, but they function as one connected system. So do our volunteers, our communities and the winter tourism economy that depends upon them.

We appreciate the tireless work already underway by the Maple Leaf Snow Skimmers as they explore every possible alternative and work with Hastings County, EOTA, the OFSC, elected officials and local landowners. We also echo the strong support expressed by the Opeongo Snowbirds.

To the Maple Leaf Snow Skimmers and Opeongo Snowbirds SC: we are in this together. The Paudash Trail Blazers are ready to support the collective effort to find a safe and workable solution before winter.

We encourage our riders, members, community partners and elected representatives to read and share the original notice. The more people who understand the regional importance of this crossing, the stronger our collective voice will be.

Protecting this bridge connection means protecting our trail network, our volunteers, our riders, our local businesses and the small communities that depend on a strong winter season.

One trail network. One snowmobiling community. One shared challenge.

Paudash Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club ... See MoreSee Less