snapper18 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Yes we rode the 197 on Fri morning, it was freshly groomed on Thurs when it was wet and heavy. It was pretty good only a little bit wash boardy. It was 8 out of 10 in my opinion with all others nearly perfect. The only routes we missed were the 195 and the 132. Heard lots of logging on 195, just didn't do 132. According to Missing Link Facebook all trails west of Stonecliff have been groomed since the poker run on Sat and are in great shape once again. Well worth the trip especially if they do get some fresh snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crainer99 Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Heading up to Stonecliffe tomorrow night for the weekend. Has anyone been up around Mattawa lately? Is the snow thin up that way? Was hoping to do a loop up the Mica Mine trail and over towards Bonfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sledjunk Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Does anyone have first hand reviews of the Rolphton Motel and Restaurant? Thinking of trying that area this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sledjunk Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 How about Pine Motel in west Deep River? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tricky Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 36 minutes ago, sledjunk said: Does anyone have first hand reviews of the Rolphton Motel and Restaurant? Thinking of trying that area this weekend. Haven't stayed at the motel, but it looked at least typical of that standard type of motel. Had lunch there a month ago with my daughter and we both enjoyed our meal and the service. One caveat to our experience is that we were only the second table occupied in the restaurant so I am not certain what happens in high traffic times. I would stay there and definitely would eat there again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTC Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Did you try the Bears Den, it's good, good trail access, likely booked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sledjunk Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 1 minute ago, GTC said: Did you try the Bears Den, it's good, good trail access, likely booked? That was the first choice. Booked. Same with Rolphton Motel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTC Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Never stayed at the Pine, looks ok from the highway, we are staying at the Morning Mist this weekend, going to be busy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper18 Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Mattawa (friday)was not nearly as good as Stonecliffe(thursday). Less snow for sure and less groomer activity because of it. Bonefield was very skimpy on the A trail and south around back up to Mattawa. Very thin on snow and easy to tell very icy under what little new snow they had. If they have had any snow since Saturday morning might be better now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largedaryl Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Rolphton Hotel is good food.. great to have them where they are, as there is no real other warm food option until Mattawa Golf Course. As for a place to sleep, it is on the low end.... 67 bucks for a single.. so bare bones. Bear's Den would be my choice. Gas on site as well in Rolphton. FYI - cops were in the area last weekend with radar handing out tickets on the straight aways... no idea why, or what that helps prevent... 50km.h + on a pipeline with open vision is very safe. My group has paid this "fun tax" in this area in the past.. 10+ years ago. $130 donation so some unknown slush fund. I am heading north of Rolphton out of Swisha up the 386 this weekend.. groomed today I was told ... will be nice to leave spring behind in Ottawa and visit winter again. La Verendrye had 1 room left Sat night last we spoke 2 days ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffgrah Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Yup swisha to Val dor this weekend fresh groom that's the ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimm Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Bears den is my first choice in Deep River. Decent rooms but thin walls, so it's a little noisy. But the adjoining restaurant, trail to parking lot, gas station, BURGER KING WHOPPER! and nearby beer store and Timmy's a block away help immensely. 2nd choice is the Deep River Motel ...has bright clean rooms, but a short bit of road running is needed to get back to the trails. A long walk to the aforementioned amenities. Pine motel is more a last resort for me... Haven't stayed there in a few years, so I really can't confirm if it's still run down and dingy... It had 70s shag carpet. A lot more road running to get to the trails and amenities too. Rolphton Motel is kind of old and dingy, but the restaurant, gas station and trail access is very convenient, food is pretty good too. The cottages at the Morning Mist resort in Stonecliffe are the best! Heated floors, kitchen, dining and living room are great for larger groups and longer stays. Probably pretty tough to book, have to do it long in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimm Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Bears Den, Rolphton, Deep River Motel all booked up. Pine Motel still has room. Gonna be busy up there this weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manotickmike Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 PM'd! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sledjunk Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Pine Motel is quite nice. Trail access is via some small streets across the highway to small ungroomed access trail. Puggz and I headed out this morning to Mattawa for lunch. Picked up another lone rider when I fueled in Rolphston. Turns out he is CornHoler, err CornBinder on here. He rode partway to Mattawa with us but had to turn back early. Something to do with Spandex???? Great guy to ride with. Trails were not too bad in the morning, but were pretty beat up on our return. It was a long day and thanks to the clubs for their efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largedaryl Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Yep.. every park n ride was packed that I saw Sat AM from Chalk River up. ( even with Chalk River marked as closed ) Went on the QC side out of Swisha.. tons of snow but the Swisha groomer has not caught up to fix the mess when the groomer broke 10 days back. Every corner and hill is mogulled on the 386 .. not horrid, but not perfect the way it normally is. Too bad as the snow conditions are stellar. Straight sections still very good. Snow is hip deep around the Pavillion.... not even a hint of spring melting yet up there.. nor this week by the looks of the forecast. Also tried the 386 north and 63 east... both not inviting IMO.... in need groomer attention. The sun came out Sunday.. man was it sweet.. about -2 / 0 and no wind... spring riding rocks! Ice fishing west of Sudbury is on tap for me next after a few days of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffgrah Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Also rode the 386 to the lodge worst of year to many sledders they were parked all along the road good thing we crossed the bridge coming in from Stonecliffe. Also no Natalie is a bummer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimm Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 I was up there this weekend and I've never seen it so busy! Most sleds I've seen all season combined. The trails were top notch and solid early in the day, but pretty worn by the end of the day, especially the A trail out of Stonecliffe, which should have been groomed Saturday night imo. Sunday it was nothing but Moguls for 15km. A trail through Deux Rivieres up to at least the Mattawa golf & ski was groomed Saturday night and was just awesome! Sunday afternoon, the A trail on the hydro line near Rolphton was getting "snirty"...a sign that the end is near...perhaps a week or two to go. I take back my assessment of the Pine Motel. It has undergone some improvement and is a lot cleaner than I remember and the owner was very cordial...no more shag carpets, lol! I'd pick this Motel over the Rolphton one any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sledjunk Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 34 minutes ago, Grimm said: I was up there this weekend and I've never seen it so busy! Most sleds I've seen all season combined. The trails were top notch and solid early in the day, but pretty worn by the end of the day, especially the A trail out of Stonecliffe, which should have been groomed Saturday night imo. Sunday it was nothing but Moguls for 15km. A trail through Deux Rivieres up to at least the Mattawa golf & ski was groomed Saturday night and was just awesome! Sunday afternoon, the A trail on the hydro line near Rolphton was getting "snirty"...a sign that the end is near...perhaps a week or two to go. I take back my assessment of the Pine Motel. It has undergone some improvement and is a lot cleaner than I remember and the owner was very cordial...no more shag carpets, lol! I'd pick this Motel over the Rolphton one any day. X2 on the trails. We rode to Mattawa and back and the ride back was pretty rough. Tons of traffic, though, so no real surprise. As for the Pine Motel, I found it very comfortable and clean. I would stay there again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largedaryl Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 The forecast keeps cooling off.. looks like a prime weekend coming up in this area, with temps below zero all weekend.... where was this weather a month ago? I hope that the volunteers are not burnt out yet have and good fortune keeping the groomers on the snow. Saw all the 2019 sleds last night in Kanata.... something for me to buy in 3 years once they depreciate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimm Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Just got back from 2 days of riding from deep River up to Deux Rivieres... Trails are still great and both clubs continue to groom. Despite a section of the A trail (5 km) being closed West of Rolphton, plenty of riders used it, as the alternative is a 50km reroute around, taking trails 136 & 137, which consists 10km of rough riding, a narrow bridge (sled width without side rails) over a creek that could scare a beginner, and an icy hill climb that could give a non studded sled difficulties. I'm guilty of using the closed trail a couple of times and I'm surprised that it is closed. There was plenty of coverage, but a couple of small sections of the dirt road is becoming exposed on the hydro line, otherwise it was great. Cold temps in the future could result in the trails lasting through this weekend and hopefully into the next, but I'll leave that decision in the hands of the Club Execs. Could be another busy weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manotickmike Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 EPIC conditions this weekend, Bissett Creek to Mattawa. Trails like carpet, mid-winter snow. I was prepared to see huge crowds, and roving bands of cowboys, as I was escorting Diane on her first serious sledding weekend, and was very pleasantly surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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