As much as we all love to enjoy the water and the rays of summer sunshine, it’s a well-known fact Fort Frances (like most of Canada) gets its fair share of winter. We Got Snow, but that’s not going to stop anyone from new adventures!
Snow-machining is an important part of travel in the North – when the temperatures drop, it’s an amazing way to explore the rugged outdoors and cover large distances in a safe, unique and exciting way. The Borderland Snowmobile Club, which includes the Rainy River, Nestor Falls, Emo, Fort Frances and Mine Centre, maintain more than 500 kilometers of some of the best trails to be found in Canada, and with permits easily purchased online, it’s never been easier to explore Fort Frances and the surrounding area by sled!
Fort Frances is a charter member of the North Western Ontario Snowmobile Trail Association (NWOSTA) and six of its clubs are the hosts of what’s known around these parts as the Wilderness Loop – hundreds of kilometres of pristine trails, breathtaking views and a perfect opportunity to explore the expanse of the North. This snow tour takes in 10 very snowmobile-friendly communities, and along the way riders will experience some of the best trail adventures in the province, with terrain that varies from windy bush trails to massive hills and from flat out lake riding to whoop-de-whoop utility corridors that disappear far into the horizon. The Wilderness Loop communities – Vermillion Bay, Dryden, Sioux Lookout, Ignace, Atikokan, Mine Centre, Fort Frances, Emo, Nestor Falls, and Sioux Narrows – all endeavour to make your snowmaching adventures one for the books!
The Wilderness Loop is quite easy to access from a number of key points, depending on where you’re arriving from. On its western side the entrance at Kenora is about an hour drive from Winnipeg, Manitoba, while access from the eastern side at Thunder Bay is best done at Atikokan, about a two hour drive west of that city. If you’re coming by sled, connector trails feed into the Wilderness Loop at Atikokan and Sioux Narrows. Snowmobilers bringing in their machines via trailer north from Minneapolis can be on the Wilderness Loop in about five hours, entering it at Atikokan, while Fort Frances (International Falls) is the entry point for those from North Dakota.
Want to know about how you can get your snow on and explore Fort Frances from a whole new angle? Check out our sub-site at We Got Snow for complete listings that will help you make your winter adventures a reality!
cover image courtesy Badiuk Powersports