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YORKTON, SK
A history of snowmobiling
Yorkton is very much connected to its farming and rural roots
by WHITNEY BLACK
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MAKING THEIR MARK: Snowmobilers near Yorkton slice through the untouched powder leaving their mark on the snow.
—photo courtesy Dave Cheveldae |
As the first community in Saskatchewan to allow snowmobiling within the city limits, Yorkton has a long history of being a snowmobiler-friendly place.
“I think a lot of it goes back to our rural base,” said Darrell Mirva, the president of the Yorkton Sno-Riders Club. “Most of the people—even the ones living in the city here—are only one generation away from living on a farm.”
Recipe for fun
The sledding surrounding Yorkton is a great mix of open prairie riding and forest trails. Also within the snowmobile club’s grooming area is Good Spirit Lake Provincial Park. Sledding is allowed within the park, which gives snowmobilers the opportunity to come face to face with some of the prairies’ diverse wildlife. The possibility of seeing coyotes, foxes, moose and elk is good, and the park is home to many types of winter birds too.
“It’s about a 48-kilometre ride until you get to the park, which gives you a chance for open trail riding,” said Mirva. “Once you get into the park you have to slow down a bit. It’s nice and curvy through there.”
Choose your adventure
Yorkton boasts over 600 kilometres of groomed trails within its region. The snowmobile club maintains the trails as often as once a week, and grooms to a comfortable width of 12 feet.
The area is very family-oriented and offers plenty of easy terrain for those who are a little less confident on their machines. With 13 warm-up shacks along the trails, families can have a relaxing day out without the worry of anybody getting too cold or hungry.
For the more adventurous sledders, however, there are numerous places around the trail system to get into some deeper snow and play.
“We have a good working relationship with a lot of the farmers in the area and the private landowners, so that if you do want some off-trail riding it is allowed,” Mirva said.
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