By

Terry Fleurie


February 2, 2021

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Laurentian Valley Township – The popular skating trail located in Laurentian Valley (LV) Township that drew visitors from near and far last winter, officially opened for the 2021 season on January 24 with new regulations in place due to COVID-19.

 The 1.5-kilometre-long trail, built and maintained primarily by a volunteer work force, was opened to visitors in January 2018 to positive reviews. Located adjacent to the Timberline Snowmobile Club headquarters at 2 Henan Road, the site also includes a snowshoe trail.

Sadly, the opening for the 2020/2021 season was delayed until recently because of the pandemic and weather, but volunteers have been hard at work preparing the surface for the best possible conditions. 

LV Public Works Manager Mark Behm is one of the volunteers involved with the trail and he said the group is glad to finally be able to welcome visitors.

“It was a tough year because we didn’t have any snow, so it was bit of a challenge to get enough snow for the trail base,” he said. “It was probably early December when we started this year and we really didn’t get started until after Christmas.

“The warm temperatures and lack of snow were a real issue for it,” he added.

He said there are about 15 volunteers working on the trail, noting the township purchased a used fire truck used on road projects and it is used to flood the trail.

 To open the trails safely, several new regulations have been implemented, he explained, with both trails open from 10 am. to 4 p.m. daily, with no evening use. Weekday visitors must now register online prior to their visit.

Registration for both trails from Monday through Friday is limited to 25 visitors per hour on each trail at any given time.

“So it’s 25 people every hour starting at 10 o’clock,” he explained.

On Saturdays and Sundays, no pre-registration is required and the allowed number of visitors increases to a total of 100 people at any time.

“Volunteers will be on site counting the number of visitors and they will be admitted on a first-come basis,” Mr. Behm noted.

“Attendance has been pretty good,” he remarked. “We had approximately 250 on our first day and we were at almost 400 on both Saturday and Sunday this past weekend.

“During the weekdays, we’re almost at capacity of the 25 per hour on the skating trail and around half capacity for the snowshoeing trail,” he added.

The trail has inbound and outbound designations to allow for the required social distancing and no personal belongings can be left at the trailhead this year, so it is recommended visitors bring a backpack. Visitors are asked to perform COVID self-assessments before attending, and while wearing masks is not mandatory, it is highly recommended, especially at the trailhead. In addition, skating aids will not be available this year, but strollers are allowed on the ice. No pets are permitted on the trails.

While there is no charge for using the trails, donation boxes are stationed at the trailhead to assist volunteers with maintenance of the trails.

 Mr. Behm said the trails are for all Renfrew County residents to enjoy.