2026 OFSC PERMITS

[skidooboy]

I thought the cap for permit price increase was limited to 7%? Can a 50.00 increase even be a possibility with the MTO involved? Asking since they were the ones who shot down the OFSC's recommendation for a request for a price increase. Ski

[Steve F6]

I think Nutter summed it up well. I'll add one thing that should be addressed here  and at our clubs meetings and I think Nutter touched on it a few pages back about the volunteer Board of Gov's having quite abit of power overseeing things and the direction we're going in the future. A change in the way we structure that i think is long overdue. How many fully commited volunteers and whole families have walked away in the last 10 years and said im done with ofsc.  Not sure what the solution is and im all ears but "More On Snow" has not been a success in my opinion.  

[PISTON LAKE CRUISER]

Here's a proposal for 2026/2027 Quebec permit pricing that was posted on Quebec Rider:

 

[Spiderman]

2 hours ago, PISTON LAKE CRUISER said:

Here's a proposal for 2026/2027 Quebec permit pricing that was posted on Quebec Rider:

 

Good for reference.

Theirs includes liability insurance does it not?

[scottyr]

10 hours ago, Spiderman said:

Good for reference.

Theirs includes liability insurance does it not?

You get approx $40 back if you decline the liability coverage.   

 

Riding in Quebec is amazing and the permit is worth the money but part of me is thinking about spending more time and money back in Ontario this coming season.     I havent really ridden Northern Ontario since 2022 and feel that I owe it another go.   

[Spiderman]

Question for club members.:

It's June 1st.

Do the clubs have any update on:

 

Total # of permits sold:

Total $ of permit revenue:

Total $ of grant/additional funding/revenue:

Total $ of expenses:

Balance?

 

 

[PISTON LAKE CRUISER]

23 minutes ago, Spiderman said:

Question for club members.:

It's June 1st.

Do the clubs have any update on:

 

Total # of permits sold:

Total $ of permit revenue:

Total $ of grant/additional funding/revenue:

Total $ of expenses:

Balance?

 

 

Haven't heard anything official but a District Board member told me permit sales were about 80,000.

[signfan]

Maybe it’s just me, but seems like the 7 day has increased a lot in Quebec vs the others.  Season pass is nice.  Can go when and where you want be it a day or a week.

 

One more winter with Quebec passes here.  When the young lad turns 12 I’ll have 4 years to focus on Northern Ontario.  Might skip the Quebec passes until he’s 16.  It’s nice to have options.  Still lots of trail to explore that I haven’t seen before.

[PISTON LAKE CRUISER]

10 hours ago, signfan said:

Maybe it’s just me, but seems like the 7 day has increased a lot in Quebec vs the others.  Season pass is nice.  Can go when and where you want be it a day or a week.

 

One more winter with Quebec passes here.  When the young lad turns 12 I’ll have 4 years to focus on Northern Ontario.  Might skip the Quebec passes until he’s 16.  It’s nice to have options.  Still lots of trail to explore that I haven’t seen before.

Sure does. An effective effort to sell early seasonals in lieu of.

On another front the new bridge is in at Riviere Madeline and the trail from Murdochville to La Cache is back in service so Gaspe is in good shape again.

[yamadan700]

On 6/1/2026 at 10:13 AM, Spiderman said:

Question for club members.:

It's June 1st.

Do the clubs have any update on:

 

Total # of permits sold:

Total $ of permit revenue:

Total $ of grant/additional funding/revenue:

Total $ of expenses:

Balance?

 

 

Can only answer the first one.

Permits sold was in the OFSC's final FB statement/email.

I believe it was 86000.(didn't look) Less than 10% increase from last year.(80000). Don't know if that is seasonal passes or all passes combined. Believe it is the latter.

 

Our district(D2) is up about 200 passes. Approx 3%. That's total seasonal and multi-day passes.

Our club was up about 80 passes. More than 10%. Largest in our district.

Good news is there were less "multi-day" sold and more "seasonal" passes sold than last year.

Last year, approx 9.5% were multiday. This year it was 7.9%. 

 

I can guarantee that expenses were up due to the long and widespread season and the March 2025 Ice Storm cleanup. (excavator rentals, etc.)

Hopefully the increase in sales will offset the extra expenses. Personally, I doubt it.

However, see below.

 

Good news.

The trail we offered up for closure last year(before Dougie sent some funds to the OFSC in December) has been approved by the OFSC to remain open next year. Not sure if we are happy or sad.

Note: We never opened it last season. Most of the signage had been removed in November(OFSC mandated/liability) and the Ice Storm damage in there is overwhelming. We still have other trails to clear before we get to that one and install the signage (3 milk crates worth) again. 

 

 

 

I

[Spiderman]

8 hours ago, yamadan700 said:

Can only answer the first one.

Permits sold was in the OFSC's final FB statement/email.

I believe it was 86000.(didn't look) Less than 10% increase from last year.(80000). Don't know if that is seasonal passes or all passes combined. Believe it is the latter.

 

Our district(D2) is up about 200 passes. Approx 3%. That's total seasonal and multi-day passes.

Our club was up about 80 passes. More than 10%. Largest in our district.

Good news is there were less "multi-day" sold and more "seasonal" passes sold than last year.

Last year, approx 9.5% were multiday. This year it was 7.9%. 

 

I can guarantee that expenses were up due to the long and widespread season and the March 2025 Ice Storm cleanup. (excavator rentals, etc.)

Hopefully the increase in sales will offset the extra expenses. Personally, I doubt it.

However, see below.

 

Good news.

The trail we offered up for closure last year(before Dougie sent some funds to the OFSC in December) has been approved by the OFSC to remain open next year. Not sure if we are happy or sad.

Note: We never opened it last season. Most of the signage had been removed in November(OFSC mandated/liability) and the Ice Storm damage in there is overwhelming. We still have other trails to clear before we get to that one and install the signage (3 milk crates worth) again. 

 

 

 

I

Appreciate it, the devil will be in the details.

If the total is up - that's usually good, however they need to be up at the right price point to be truly good news, and only the OFSC have those #'s right now.

 

On the bold, that's a positive sign - hoping this is the same across the province - i.e. all trails have been approved to be left alone for the upcoming season.

 

 

 

 

[Sksman]

Well I for one will only buy one Ontario permit at this point.  
 

The lack of leadership by the OFSC in reopening the Carden Sno Drifters trails makes me question even buying an Ontario pass at all.  Me and a pile of others.  I know of a few who are done now.

 

And it rests on the Leadership of the OFSC shoulders.  They top did crap all but throw up road blocks instead of doing everything to help open some close trails and help capitalize on a second great snow season.

 

 

[Spiderman]

11 hours ago, Sksman said:

Well I for one will only buy one Ontario permit at this point.  
 

The lack of leadership by the OFSC in reopening the Carden Sno Drifters trails makes me question even buying an Ontario pass at all.  Me and a pile of others.  I know of a few who are done now.

 

And it rests on the Leadership of the OFSC shoulders.  They top did crap all but throw up road blocks instead of doing everything to help open some close trails and help capitalize on a second great snow season.

 

 

I am not on the inside or at the table - but the optics of how things were handled up top last year were horrible.

 

I can only speak to what was around me in plain sight, and as usual, our local club and those around it did an incredible job providing trails for us. If I never went on line or read - I would not really have known any better - it looked like business as usual and I certainly have nothing to complain about.

 

Hoping things are being managed better at the upper level for this upcoming season.

[Sksman]

When your product is snowmobile trails and you have an area where you allowed it to go mismanaged for years and then shut it all down and then for years you shut out local riders because of your conditions I call that a failure.

 

Makes no sense to me.  Volunteers in place to do the work alongside an operating club and the OFSC threw up road blocks.

[Spiderman]

9 hours ago, Sksman said:

When your product is snowmobile trails and you have an area where you allowed it to go mismanaged for years and then shut it all down and then for years you shut out local riders because of your conditions I call that a failure.

 

Makes no sense to me.  Volunteers in place to do the work alongside an operating club and the OFSC threw up road blocks.

I get it - like I said, my experience is limited to what's around me and where I was riding.

If I was in your shoes - my comments would likely be very different.

[yamadan700]

On 6/9/2026 at 9:20 PM, Sksman said:

Well I for one will only buy one Ontario permit at this point.  
 

The lack of leadership by the OFSC in reopening the Carden Sno Drifters trails makes me question even buying an Ontario pass at all.  Me and a pile of others.  I know of a few who are done now.

 

And it rests on the Leadership of the OFSC shoulders.  They top did crap all but throw up road blocks instead of doing everything to help open some close trails and help capitalize on a second great snow season.

 

 

They also had issues getting MOUs from the City of Kawartha Lakes(COKL).