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quebec trails map & info


slomo

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Was reading the discussion regards the Ontario interactive map - some discontent and reference to the Quebec map.....I have been doing some organizational research over the year in hopes of sledding in Quebec when personal time allows and thought I would help get others started if so inclined. Lots of people here with a lot of Quebec experience - this is not meant to be a do all and end all, but a start to getting up to speed on what can be fairly daunting at first....

 

This site shows the various regions as being open, fair or closed:

http://www.sledmagazine.com/magazines/motoneiges/cartes/carte.jsp?lg=en

 

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Conditions of individual regional trails can be found here - list of regions into which you can auger down into the various club trails:

 

http://www.motoneiges.ca/actions/showConditionsSentierFCMQ?lg=fr

 

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Shows open/closed, condition, last report. Clicking on the little icons if available (orange square) leads to further regional information in most cases.

 

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The map from the FCMQ has a  lot of information available including trip planning....and cumulative mileage on your trip....

 

http://fcmq.viaexplora.com/carte-motoneige/indexen.html#map

 

 

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This map can also be accessed from the Motoneige magazine trail maps and info previous above....

 

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I don't give a darn if these maps originated with volunteers or however the myth goes - no reason why Ontario shouldn't have similar.

 

OF NOTE - some motels and businesses seem to be left off of the Motoneige map - likely have to pay to be included. There are also others on the FCMQ map that are not included either, but might be found through Quebec tourism sources - a link to which is here - get your paper maps!

 

http://snowmobileinquebec.com/snowmobilers-guide/

 

With everything being Saint this or Saint that, I have found it useful and less befuddling to bookmark accomodations choices in their respective areas

 

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And what else have you got to keep you busy until next season??

 

 

By way of contrast, the New Brunswick trail map does not show conditions, but indicates the last time a trail was groomed - the inability to program your own riding itinerary has been improved somewhat on the Ontario trail map with little yellow sleds, but does not exist on the NB map which is produced by the same company. However, I do not expect much improvement on the current Ontario map set up as the New Brunswick map has maintained a limited standard including the white area to the left for several years now.

 

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Interesting to note that the green trails have been groomed within the last two days - this post being made on April 7!

 

 

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1 hour ago, SlowTouringGuy said:

A lot of work went into that post for the benefit of all here.  Well done, Slomo !  

X 2...and is a really good illustration of what Quebec's interactive mapping resources offer.  Hopefully OFSC can (and will) go to school on this comparative information.

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Quebecrider.com is a good source too.

 

I wonder if there is a bit of 'not invented here' involved w/ the ITG? Hard to believe that guys the app/page that folks prefer is made by volunteers.

 

Then again you get what you pay for.

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Ok...  I don't get this.  

 

First I have to go to the Sledmagazine page to see which "zones" are open for sledding.  Then, to find out which actual trails are open I have to go to motoneiges.ca.  But then, if I want to plan an itinerary, I have to go to yet another website..fmcq.viaexplore.com...

 

And you guys think this system is better?  :wtf:

 

Other than the issues with the route planning needing some improvement, how is the Ontario ITG inferior?  We go to one site to get the trail status, and trail network, and route plan... all in one spot..  why on earth would you want to have to use 3 different websites?  Do we really want the OFSC taking a step backwards?  Because if they move to this style of mapping I certainly don't see it as a step forward!

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8 hours ago, paulslund said:

Ok...  I don't get this.  

 

First I have to go to the Sledmagazine page to see which "zones" are open for sledding.  Then, to find out which actual trails are open I have to go to motoneiges.ca.  But then, if I want to plan an itinerary, I have to go to yet another website..fmcq.viaexplore.com...

 

And you guys think this system is better?  :wtf:

 

Other than the issues with the route planning needing some improvement, how is the Ontario ITG inferior?  We go to one site to get the trail status, and trail network, and route plan... all in one spot..  why on earth would you want to have to use 3 different websites?  Do we really want the OFSC taking a step backwards?  Because if they move to this style of mapping I certainly don't see it as a step forward!

I had never looked at the Quebec mapping before but looking at what is above it looks to be like you said... three different web sites. Lots of information but way more complex than it needs to be with all the menu options, drill downs, select option x, to get another menu to select option y to get another menu to select option z.

 

One stop, user friendly, key functionality. One of the flaws in many software designs is that the programmer tries to code a product that is everything to everyone and it becomes a mess to navigate with a bunch of things that very few if anybody really needs.

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9 hours ago, paulslund said:

Ok...  I don't get this.  

 

First I have to go to the Sledmagazine page to see which "zones" are open for sledding.  Then, to find out which actual trails are open I have to go to motoneiges.ca.  But then, if I want to plan an itinerary, I have to go to yet another website..fmcq.viaexplore.com...

 

And you guys think this system is better?  :wtf:

 

Other than the issues with the route planning needing some improvement, how is the Ontario ITG inferior?  We go to one site to get the trail status, and trail network, and route plan... all in one spot..  why on earth would you want to have to use 3 different websites?  Do we really want the OFSC taking a step backwards?  Because if they move to this style of mapping I certainly don't see it as a step forward!

 

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Actually Ontario guide was good this winter after bugs got worked out. Had no trouble figuring out what was open and safe to ride. Nice to have this resource. 

I have paper maps left from last season so used that to plan my distance. Real easy to add up km's in between the pins. Couldn't get the guide to do what I wanted for trip planning. 

Nothing like seeing a group of guys roll into hearst at 6 pm and ask me how far  chapleau is. I told them 600 km's roughly and that was were they were going tomorrow. They told me they came from Timmins and about 400 Km's that day. I just said leave early and have fun. 

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I found this year's ITG to be quite adequate. The site seems to load faster than the previous version. I also prefer to use the little green, yellow, and red sleds to determine distances, as opposed to having to click each trail section, as was required with the previous ITG. My biggest complaint is the inability to remove the large white information box that takes up the left side of the screen on the desktop version. I also check the Facebook groups of clubs, along with Ontario Conditions, to find comments from riders, groomer operators, and other club reps.

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Great post from the OP. All of us that head to Quebec have learned the hard way to navigate the convoluted setup they have. Qc tops the ITG  in having an app that functions offline, can show snow depth and weather out looks as well as  showing groomer status when online.  The weather and snow stuff is not a must have but the groomer tracking can really help in deciding where to ride.

But if you wanna know trail status you need to be online and find those other webpages linked in the OP.

Which is again where the Risk Management tie in of the ITG limits the OFSC. Can't make an offline version of the app when riders are told to use that app to verify if a trail is limited/available or not. 

Many QC clubs had to turn to email lists or FB posts this season to disclose grooming schedules  since the FCMQ went to a new groomer sat tracking and it failed big time.  I noticed there seemed to be more Ontario clubs doing the same so perhaps the OFSC will get over the fear of groomer chasers and consider some kind of grooming tracking model for the ITG in the future.

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53 minutes ago, mcZEd382 said:

Great post from the OP.


Thanks, Slomo. As mentioned, great summary of resources for Quebec snowmobiling. 

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19 hours ago, Canuck said:


Thanks, Slomo. As mentioned, great summary of resources for Quebec snowmobiling. 

Actually yes..thank you Slomo. I should have said that first.  I was actually very confused about trail status info in Quebec.  It sounds like their app is really good though

 

On 4/8/2018 at 9:02 AM, Blake G said:

. My biggest complaint is the inability to remove the large white information box that takes up the left side of the screen on the desktop version.

Heh heh...  okay here's a workaround to that.. I discovered it purely by chance.  If you open up a browser window, then resize it so it's roughly the dimensions of a cell phone screen (i.e. tall and narrow) when you open the ITG it thinks you're on a cell phone and the white sidebar is not there.  You can then maximize the browser to take up the whole screen and it won't come back (unless you reload the page after you've maximized it). 

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3 hours ago, paulslund said:

Heh heh...  okay here's a workaround to that.. I discovered it purely by chance.  If you open up a browser window, then resize it so it's roughly the dimensions of a cell phone screen (i.e. tall and narrow) when you open the ITG it thinks you're on a cell phone and the white sidebar is not there.  You can then maximize the browser to take up the whole screen and it won't come back (unless you reload the page after you've maximized it). 

Thanks for the tip paulslund. The reality here is that we shouldn't have to do that to get an unobstructed view of the ITG. If the people who developed and continue to work on the current ITG would get off their ample behinds and simply ask users what they didn't like about the current view, they would know that users don't need a large portion of the screen taken up by instructions at all times. Pretty simple.

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Thanks, Paul. Great idea.

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Having done a 1200 mile loop in northern Quebec this year, I can tell you one of the biggest limitations of their ITG is that is DOES NOT show many of the fuel / lodging / food stops - especially in the remote areas.  This was critical to planning out routes and stops for a saddlebag trip.  Thankfully I had good 'ol paper maps that showed literally 2 or 4X the businesses so we could plan it.

 

The best thing they have going is their iMotoneige app for your cell phone for a few $.  Can't tell you how many times I pulled out my cell in the middle of nowhere, and the GPS showed me exactly where we were at on the map, and I could find distance to next waypoint, etc.   Zoom in and you can see your way around town to get to the hotel in the dark, etc.  Very, very nice when you are in unfamiliar areas.

 

I found that I needed 2 web pages to deal with Quebec - the first page that slomo illustrated isn't really necessary - you can turn on snow depth and groomer delay on the interactive map and pretty easily see the 'working' area of the trail system.

 

The OFSC site really doesn't compare to QC, but for the areas I ride ( Wawa, Hearst, Timmins, Halfway ) all I need to know is whether the line is red, yellow, or green.

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The ideal ITG for me shows the trails, red, yellow or green. Allows me to plan out a route showing the distance of each trail segment and the cumulative distance. Locations for gas and food along the way. Oh... isn't that what the old one did. As I mentioned before washrooms would be a real nice to have for the women in particular.

 

Looking at the OFSC paper maps there is a legend that shows TRAIL ON ROAD. It would be really nice if they actually used that on the paper maps and then put that on the ITG as well. It makes a difference. Depending on time of year and general snow conditions you would have a really good idea as to how much road rash carbide damage and cooling challenges you would find.

 

I've also heard from parents that are out riding with kids under 16 on their own sleds that they like to follow the law which doesn't let their kids ride the roads. It's nice to be able to plan a route that avoids that.

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1 hour ago, 700renegade said:

Having done a 1200 mile loop in northern Quebec this year, I can tell you one of the biggest limitations of their ITG is that is DOES NOT show many of the fuel / lodging / food stops - especially in the remote areas.  This was critical to planning out routes and stops for a saddlebag trip.  Thankfully I had good 'ol paper maps that showed literally 2 or 4X the businesses so we could plan it.

 

The best thing they have going is their iMotoneige app for your cell phone for a few $.  Can't tell you how many times I pulled out my cell in the middle of nowhere, and the GPS showed me exactly where we were at on the map, and I could find distance to next waypoint, etc.   Zoom in and you can see your way around town to get to the hotel in the dark, etc.  Very, very nice when you are in unfamiliar areas.

 

I found that I needed 2 web pages to deal with Quebec - the first page that slomo illustrated isn't really necessary - you can turn on snow depth and groomer delay on the interactive map and pretty easily see the 'working' area of the trail system.

 

The OFSC site really doesn't compare to QC, but for the areas I ride ( Wawa, Hearst, Timmins, Halfway ) all I need to know is whether the line is red, yellow, or green.

 

Totally agree!  Fantastic mobile app for finding your way.  Don't need anything more in the way of GPS!  Planning routes and understanding distances is great! 

 

Knowing where to get fuel, food, services, and places to stay..........very lacking just like the ITG in Ontario.  After finding fuel and so many services along the way on main trails in the Gaspe Peninsula, we stopped worrying about it.  After all we ride the northern Ontario Trails which have been stripped of fuel stops by the TSSA and fuel can be 140 to 240 kilometers apart in the extreme.  Yes, we always have extra fuel with us.

 

Started picking up paper maps along the way in Quebec which made venturing into the mountains on club trails less of a guessing game for things like fuel.  We often ride without any planned stops and have yet to sleep on our sleds.  We have been forced to ride into the night a few times, but that is part of being free to change directions as you wish or keep going farther if it is too early.  Guess it is easy when it is just me and my daughter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I believe the ITG will show all fuel stops etc if the data is provided by the clubs.

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3 hours ago, Blake G said:

I believe the ITG will show all fuel stops etc if the data is provided by the clubs.

 

I am sure you are correct.  I guess one of my biggest issues with the map is that the clubs don't bother to map/GPS changes in the trail which are numerous over the years.  There is good reason to move the trails as is needed and I have been around long enough to remember where many of the trails went in years past, but what about a new to the area touring rider/group?  Signage is not what it used to be in many areas and when trying to follow the ITG which can show trails of yesteryear running miles from the current trails I am sure it causes concern.

 

The Quebec map seems to be pretty up to date in all the areas we rode.  Being new to the Gaspe, the mobile app recommended to me took all the guess work out of the routes especially after dark in the most remote mountain club trails.  No signs needed with that app when combined with a directional app on my phone.  

 

The free Polaris Ride Command app still shows many of the trails of yesteryear in Ontario.  That app also has a directional "flashlight" built in and full GPS with maps.  Highly recommend it.  It's FREE!  

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Our club sent a trail change request to delete a section of B203 (The trail was moved to another existing trail further west) to the district in May 2017. The District office sent the change request to the OFSC because as I was told by the District 5 employee who handles changes ,the District cannot do trail deletions.

As you can see from the view of the ITG just now, nothing has been done. It shows the B203 starting at no other trail intersection and travelling north to a trail intersection where the B203 appears to end. The OFSC was reminded again about this change request in the fall of 2017.

It seems based on the above that it may not always be the fault of the clubs or District Offices that trail addition / deletion / location changes are not made to the ITG in a timely fashion.

download.png

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On 4/7/2018 at 8:57 AM, SlowTouringGuy said:

A lot of work went into that post for the benefit of all here.  Well done, Slomo !  

Merci mon ami! Vous êtes mon inspiration. Continuez dans les années, comme vous, alors publiez cette information ici afin que 
je puisse me rappeler où c'est l'année prochaine quand j'en ai besoin. 
Habituellement, n'oubliez pas de visiter ici tous les jours ou pas ... pas toujours bien. 
Maintenant où étais-je ...?
?
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:lmao: 

 

Who are you?  What were we talking about?

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19 hours ago, PISTON LAKE CRUISER said:

Our club sent a trail change request to delete a section of B203 (The trail was moved to another existing trail further west) to the district in May 2017. The District office sent the change request to the OFSC because as I was told by the District 5 employee who handles changes ,the District cannot do trail deletions.

As you can see from the view of the ITG just now, nothing has been done. It shows the B203 starting at no other trail intersection and travelling north to a trail intersection where the B203 appears to end. The OFSC was reminded again about this change request in the fall of 2017.

It seems based on the above that it may not always be the fault of the clubs or District Offices that trail addition / deletion / location changes are not made to the ITG in a timely fashion.

download.png

Baden section of b203 was removed from the map early in the season I say January. It showed it ran from Baden to st agatha before it disappeared.  Last year the closed section was actually green for a week. 

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