Co-operation between the groups who groom snowmobile trails near the town of Holland and in the Pembina Valley in Manitoba means access to exceptional riding for both locals and visitors.
According to Don Wilcox, president of the Rolling Range Riders snowmobile club, until about four years ago the nearby Pembina Valley Snowkickers would groom halfway to Holland on the east and west ends of their trail system, then turn back.
“Then we decided that instead of them heading to both of those areas they would just keep on coming from the east and then make a loop and go back on the west side of their trails,” he said.
“We wanted to get back into the Pembina Valley and they wanted to get back into Spruce Woods, so we just came to this idea that why don’t we connect the trail, and we got it connected up and it works really well.”
Spruce Woods Provincial Park
Wilcox said that one of the best rides in his area is to go about 25 kilometres from Holland to Spruce Woods Provincial Park, where there’s close to 100 miles of sand hill country riding, warm-up shacks and a winter activity park.
“When you’re going that way you get about four miles out of Holland and you get into bush all the time, you’re not just out in the open,” he said. “You leave here in the morning from Holland and there’s enough riding in the park that you could spend the whole day in there. It’s sand hill country, so it’s a lot of rolling hills, it’s not just flat, and there’s a lot of twisty trails too.
“We pack our lunch and go out there and have a wiener roast inside the cabins. They also have a winter activity park where you can go skating and curling, and we’re close enough that we pack the kids’ skates and go in there, have a weiner roast and come back home.
“We also like to go down into the Pembina Valley,” he said. “It’s nice riding down in the Pembina Valley; a lot of it’s in the bush area, too, and there’s a lot of wildlife.”
Pembina Valley
Pembina Valley Snowkickers club president Ken Henderson said that while their trail system covers everything from “boring, open fields to along municipal roads to highways,” the Pembina Valley is the heart of the club.
“Hence the name Pembina Valley Snowkickers,” he said. “It’s a long valley that runs right across the border into the U.S., and probably our best riding would be there. It’s wilderness type area with lots of wildlife and beautiful, soft snow. It’s kind of a little paradise that we’ve got.”
Both Wilcox and Henderson said that the Portage la Prairie snowmobile club, Club Snow Inc., interconnects with their trails as well.
“You can go from one club’s trail to the next,” said Wilcox. “It’s created quite a bit of tourism for the local economy.”
