Recommendations, please (Now with ride report)

[sledjunk]

Rather than our usual Post Christmas trek to HF, we are thinking about heading out to D5 or 9 for a few days. Any recommendations as to where to stay? We prefer a place that has a restaurant on sight and is trail accessible (in the open trails area).

Also any areas that are must see or should be avoided would be helpful as well.

Thanks

[bluvalian]

Hey Dave you could crash on my couch theres no restaurant there but im sure you could put a can of beefaroni in the nuker if ya get real hungry.

[Domino]

Hey Dave you could crash on my couch theres no restaurant there but im sure you could put a can of beefaroni in the nuker if ya get real hungry.

Get ear plugs... :poke:

[Lep]

D5/D9 have NO snow all those yellow lines u are looking at was my kids playing.

Have NOT stayed BUT there is a motel at Varney that is always busy has grub etc trail right to there lot.Myself I have never stayed anywhere in 5/9 to close to home.

[sledjunk]

Hey Dave you could crash on my couch theres no restaurant there but im sure you could put a can of beefaroni in the nuker if ya get real hungry.

Get ear plugs... :poke:

Thanks Bluvalian. We'll be there Sunday. There will be six of us. Is that still OK?

[sledjunk]

D5/D9 have NO snow all those yellow lines u are looking at was my kids playing.

Have NOT stayed BUT there is a motel at Varney that is always busy has grub etc trail right to there lot.Myself I have never stayed anywhere in 5/9 to close to home.

Thanks Lep. They must be boys!

[bluvalian]

if you can all fit on one couch stacked up thats fine by me i think i have 6 cans of beefaroni.

[muddy tires]

Rather than our usual Post Christmas trek to HF, we are thinking about heading out to D5 or 9 for a few days. Any recommendations as to where to stay? We prefer a place that has a restaurant on sight and is trail accessible (in the open trails area).

Also any areas that are must see or should be avoided would be helpful as well.

Thanks

Stone Willow Inn in St Mary's. The trail is groomed right to the door and I think they are a club sponsor.

[bluvalian]

Hey Sj mossy might know a little better but trails around blyth/wingham seem to be in pretty good shape not sure where there is to stay in the area maybe Blyth Inn (519) 523-9381. They look like theyre a d9 sponsor.

[sledjunk]

Hey Sj mossy might know a little better but trails around blyth/wingham seem to be in pretty good shape not sure where there is to stay in the area maybe Blyth Inn (519) 523-9381. They look like theyre a d9 sponsor.

Thanks, I'll check on them as well. I would like to patronize our sponsors.

muddytires, Stone Willow inn is fully booked, but thanks for the info.

[bluvalian]

http://www.winghamlindonmotel.com/ this one as well as in wingham groomed right to it no restaurant on site but 2 minute drive into town. Also another sponsor motel.

[Blackstar]

http://www.oakwoodinnresort.com/

http://www.thefallsinn.com/

[Faceman]

Highly recommend the Falls Inn in Walters Falls. Restaurant on site, gas up street. If you come cross country make sure you ride through Singhampton and into the Beaver Valley, then north to WF. You can either go south and west towards Markdale or north towards Owen Sound. If you haven't been, you must stop at Teds Range Rd Diner. Then west to OS and once again either continue west or drop down on the rail line towards Markdale. You can split off there and go any direction of your choice. The Homestead in Durham is nice. I believe Pike Lake Motel in Mt Forest is open all winter. All sorts of options

[ALLNYTRO]

Homested is definetly a favorite spot for lunch on the trails. Watched team Canada win the gold medal there last year! Lots of sled parking there too

[Mossy]

Benmiller inn! The trail runs through the parking lot! http://www.benmillerinnandspa.com/index.php

[Mossy]

http://www.samuelshotel.ca/location.php

Here is another place. Brand new! In Saltford snowmobile trail is is just across the road.

[sledjunk]

Well, we decided to venture to Goderich (Saltford, actually) to try the trails in D9. We arrived at the Samuels Hotel about 8:30 Sunday night and were treated to a visit by the Mossy's while we were unloading.

The hotel is a new hotel and the amenities were excellent! The only negative I have is that the hotel does not have a restaurant, although they provide an upscale Continental breakfast, including Belgian Waffles. However, dinner was an issue as the only places that we could find to deliver were a pizza place and an upscale ($) restaurant that the hotel recommends and uses for their room service.

Monday morning, we arranged to meet Mossy for a morning ride before he had to go to work. We started off with a bit of a bumpy ungroomed trail to get to the actual club trail. Once on the trails, the conditions were excellent. We rode to meet Mossy in Auburn and then rode to the Blythe Clubhouse.

The new looking building in the background is the club's new outhouse.

So, of course, we had to 'mark' it!

We continued down to Clinton where Mossy recommended that we do lunch while he departed for a day of work. As it turned out, the two restaurants in Clinton were closed, so, after checking with some locals, we headed back to Blythe for lunch at the Grandview.

Moosifer was leading and he suggested that we do a loop over toward Wingham and through Lucknow. Our first concern was coming across a Trail Closed sign as we crossed Holmes Line. We stopped and, although both Moosifer and I were wearing our Trail Patrol vests, we watched a number of sleds go right past us down the closed trail and come back from the closed trail. As we pondered this, we realized that this was one of the few trails that we rode this trip that were included on Reved's GPS trail maps. Thanks to the GPS and the trail maps, we realized that this section crossed diagonally and met up with the next concession road. The roads had a good amount of snow on the shoulders so the road running was not a problem. As we reached our turn, we met the groomer coming up the road so we stopped and chatted with the operator. Turns out that the closure was due to a swampy area that was not passable and he had been working on. He directed us down one more concession and along back to the trail.

Once back on the trail, we stopped at an intersection to take a few more shots of the trail conditions.

It was about 5 PM at this point.

We continued on to Lucknow for more fuel and this is where our fearless leader led us astray. (The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess ) We went about 17 Km out our way and had to backtrack to Lucknow. It turned out that we passed our turn prior to the fuel stop and had not noticed it.

Once back on track, we headed back to the hotel. Turned out that we covered about 210 Km in 11 hours which wasn't too bad for a first ride of the season.

Here is our route.

Moosifer had to head back home Monday night so only my daughter and I were to ride on Tuesday. It was a slow start as we were both tired and sore as we had ridden further than we had expected for the first ride.

We decided that we would do a small loop up toward St Helen's and back to Auburn for lunch. Ms. SJ considers sledding just a way to get from one meal to another.

On the way to St Helen's, we discovered why the area seems to have so much wind! The are huge power lines feeding these massive fans.

In these days of conservation, it sure doesn't make sense to me!

A good lunch at Stickers in Auburn and then back to the hotel to load up.

The trails were excellent in all areas especially considering how early it is in the season. The area could use more snow and cold to freeze up the wet spots, but most of Southern Ontario is in the same boat.

Thanks to all who offered suggestions and to Mossy for taking us on a guided tour for part of the day on Monday.

[LuvMyViper]

Great report Dave!!!!! I can't wait to ride again... I think a visit to the Mossy's is overdue.. .

Thanks for sharing your report..!!!

[skidooer]

As it turned out, the two restaurants in Clinton were closed

Two? Clinton has more restaurants than inhabitants. Granted, they are not all easily accessible by snowmobile.

Looks like a great ride. Always neat to see some familiar trails. Hope you enjoyed your visit to the county.

[Mossy]

Great report Dave!!!!! I can't wait to ride again... I think a visit to the Mossy's is overdue.. .

Thanks for sharing your report..!!!

Anytime!

[Mossy]

Great report Dave!!!!! I can't wait to ride again... I think a visit to the Mossy's is overdue.. .

Thanks for sharing your report..!!!

[cehyoopers]

great review.....

[maple]

Those pictures bring back some memories ... LOL! Sounds like you had a great couple days of riding.

[Mossy]

Too bad they are all melting now!!!

Those pictures bring back some memories ... LOL! Sounds like you had a great couple days of riding.

[Canuck]

Looks like a great area for snowmobiling. Wonderful report!

We've had the pleasure of your company at Haliburton Forest on Boxing Day in year's past, but went to IIHF hockey in Buffalo this year. Hope to continue the 'early season' sledding tradition again next year.

Way to go Mossy! This bunch needs a steely eyed chaperone