True to his surname, retired Edson resident and Sno-Seekers club member Calvin Hill is a mountain rider with an interest in all things steep and deep. But he praises the trail riding in his home county for its tour-style trip potential and interconnected, family-friendly points of interest along the way.
Yellowhead County is a municipal district in west-central Alberta which includes the towns of Edson and Hinton, as well as a dozen or so snowmobile-friendly hamlets.
“The nicest rides in the area are the rides on our groomed trails from Edson up to Silver Summit, up to the ski hill,” said Hill, adding that there is a warm-up cabin on the way—as well as places to eat, hotel rooms and fuel. “From there you can carry on… and go up to Whitecourt, and from there you can go up to Swan Hill. You can also go south from Edson all the way to Robb, and you can continue on riding down through the Cadomin area.
“People come from all over because of that, because they can go to the ski hill, or they can go to Robb. It makes it so that you can go farther and have a lot more fun, I think,” he said.
Best rides
Sno-Seekers club president Brant Rolling echoed Hill’s praise of the groomed trail from Edson north to Silver Summit, saying that one of his best memories from last season was leading a media ride up to the ski hill.
“Last year we had a media ride with the MLA, the mayor from the county, the mayor of the town and the people from the radio station and that was a really good day,” he said. “We showed them what we do, how we maintain the trails and make it a family-oriented trail system for people of all ages, and took them up to Silver Summit. Some people rode back and some people had vehicles there that they drove back.
“A lot of people will also drive up to the ski hill and then just snowmobile around there for the day.”
Rolling added that for those who are looking for more technical riding, “anywhere along the snowmobile trail you can shoot off on cutlines.”
“You can make a loop from the ski hill and come back down the powerline, and then just before Edson you get on the trail,” he said.
“It’s wide; there’s lots of room,” Hill said. “You can go four, five or six guys riding side by side down a powerline.”
Hill and Rolling both said that the Sno-Seekers have various maps of their groomed trails available for visitors.
