Snowmobiling in Haliburton Forest

Do one thing that scares you every day. That’s my motto. And on Saturday, that meant  heading up to Haliburton to go snowmobiling in the wilderness with my photog. Having never snowmobiled before, I felt particularly ambitious and decided to go where the pros go: Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve Ltd. With more than 80 000 acres of forest, 50 lakes and 300 km of scenic trails, Haliburton Forest is one of the top snowmobiling destinations in North America. Not a bad place to try my hand at a new sport, right? This photo pretty much captures how excited I was…

It’s hard to believe that the winter wonderland is only three hours north of Toronto! The property is a nature-lovers paradise (it also happens to be Canada’s first sustainable forest).

Before we embarked on our solo trek deep into the wilderness, the amazing folks at Haliburton Forest patiently briefed us on our equipment, the trail map and other safety tips. It was our first time wearing snowmobiling helmets so even getting those on was a mission!

After our snowmobile was inspected, we hopped on and cruised around the parking lot for a bit of practice. It took us a few minutes to get used to our Arctic Cat, but we got the hang of it pretty quickly. Eager to explore, we hit the trails!

We were terrified of getting lost. Thankfully, the trail is clearly marked throughout the property and all we had to remember was to follow the “base” signs to get back to our car.

We loved snowmobiling on the wide-open lakes. It was incredibly serene, especially when we turned our motor off and just sat there staring off into the horizon…

The property is truly breathtaking. We couldn’t help but stop every few minutes to take it all in…

Oh, and there are plenty of shelters along the way where you can hop off, make a fire and enjoy some food (we bought a packed lunch at the restaurant)…

One of the highlights of our trip was meeting a group of guys who’ve been snowmobiling in Haliburton Forest for over 20 years! They were impressed that me and my photog were out on the trails on our own and invited us to their cabin at the base camp (which we totally thought was the local bar). It was a great way to wrap up our day. We had some drinks, listened to their snowmobiling tales and even got a little bit of foosball action…

We still can’t get over our adventure. Next time, we’re going to bring a group of friends along so they can experience the magical winter wonderland via snowmobiles too. If you’re looking for something a bit different, I highly recommend you give snowmobiling at Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve Ltd a shot!

Here are a few things to know before heading there:

• You need a valid drivers license to rent out a snowmobile.
• Snowmobile rentals are $275 plus the trail fee ($49/day + $10 for a passenger) plus the cost of your gas (our bill was $12). You also need to put down a $2500 damage deposit.
• Try to hit the trails as early as possible (something we regret not doing) so you can experience more of the property. You can pick up the snowmobiles as early as 8 am and they need to be returned by 4:30 pm.
• Although we went on a balmy day (-3 celsius), it can get quite cold (especially when you’re going 50 km/hr on an open lake). Make sure you layer up and dress for the weather! We both sported our Canada Goose parkas and had really warm gloves. I highly recommend snow pants too – they have them available for rent at the base camp.
• Snowmobiles are loud! Turn off your motor once in a while and take in all the nature around you. We saw a pine marten and plenty of birds during our stops!
• Snowmobilers are notoriously friendly so if you get lost, overheat your snowmobile or need any help on the trails don’t be afraid to ask!

The snowmobiling adventure was part of a press trip to Haliburton and was complimentary for me and my photographer. As always, all reviews and opinions are entirely my own.