The construction of the new Revelstoke Snowmobile Welcome Centre is underway at the trailhead to Boulder Mountain on Revelstoke's Westside Road. The project is the brainchild of the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club and promises to be one of the most impressive facilities of its kind in western Canada when complete.
The 4,000 square foot Snowmobile Welcome Centre will include storage and maintenance space for the Club's trail grooming equipment plus a reception area, two offices, washrooms, boardroom and mezzanine. The storage space will have 20 x 18 overhead access doors at each end of the facility.
The project is budgeted at a total of approximately $400,000. The Revelstoke Snowmobile Club is contributing $40,000, the Revelstoke Tourism Infrastructure Fund through the City of Revelstoke's economic development department is investing $160,000, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District is contributing $100,000 and the Columbia Basin Trust is adding another $100,000.
“Snowmobiling is a major contributor to the Revelstoke area economy. Many thousands of tourists visit Revelstoke each year to snowmobile,” said Alan Mason, Economic Development Officer for the City of Revelstoke. “A survey we undertook in 2012-13 indicated that the value of snowmobile tourism to the local economy was in the $8-10 million range.”
It is the goal of the new welcome Centre to attract new snowmobiler user groups and increase visitors to the Boulder Mountain area by ten per cent. This will translate into additional increase in retail sales, accommodation and food and beverage in Revelstoke. The Welcome Centre will also provide environmental information to snowmobilers as well as visitors in general. Displays will be constructed that promote snowmobile safety, avalanche awareness, current trail conditions, weather bulletins and stewardship measures in place to protect and preserve mountain caribou populations and habitat. The Revelstoke Snowmobile Club also successfully replaced the Boulder Cabin in 2010 and renovated the Frisby Cabin in 2012. They maintain 80 kilometers of groomed trails on Boulder Mountain and Frisby Ridge.
"We believe this new Centre will help the Club improve the snowmobile product in Revelstoke," added Alan Mason.
Revelstoke-based contractor Mueller Construction is the general contractor on the project. It is hoped that the new Snowmobile Welcome Centre will be ready for use during the 2015/16 season.
