Snow good! Local winter sports enthusiasts rejoice with plenty of snow this year

It's been a great year for Graham Snyder to get on his sled and hit the open trails near his home in Breslau, Ont.

"It's actually fun to groom [the trails] again because there's so much snow," said Snyder, who is with the Southwestern Ontario Snowmobile Region.

He says the trails have been the best for the first time in about four years.

"And the snowmobilers that I meet are pumped right up. I get fist pumps every time I meet somebody because everybody is so happy," he said.

The snow started in December but fell in earnest in January and hasn't let up, which means people in Waterloo region and area started to play in the snow again.

Snow has been sticking to the ski hills and snowmobile and cross country trails. And the cold temperatures have kept the outdoor ice rinks in good shape.

Snyder, like other outdoor winter enthusiasts, were a little nervous in late December when there was nothing on the ground. But once it started snowing at the beginning of January it didn't seem to stop, making it one of the best winter in years.

'The weather has spoken'

More snow than usual fell in January making conditions for outdoor activities ideal.

Frank Seglenieks, the co-ordinator of the E.D. Soulis Memorial Weather Station at the University of Waterloo, says 68 cm of snow fell in the month, which normally averages 38 cm.

"It was overall a dry month but pretty much all [the precipitation] fell as snow, so the snowfall total was much above average," Seglenieks said.

 "The January temperature was 0.9 degrees below average. The first month in the below average range since Aug 2023."

Bill Creighton, the CEO of Chicopee Ski and Summer Resort, is happy to hear that.

He says the region hasn't experienced a winter like this in a decade.

"I think 2014 was the last time we saw snow like this. 2018 was another decent year. And then of course we hit the COVID years and we had a good winter. The one year we were shut down, we had lots of snow right through to March and April," Creighton said.

"For anyone who thinks that winter is over in southwestern Ontario, I think the weather has spoken. This is a great winter to get out and enjoy."

Creighton says Chicopee invested $8 million this summer on new automated snowmaking machines and LED lights. As well there are two new covered surface lifts that will take people to the top of the hills.

Consistent cold days

The amount of snow and lower temperatures have kept the cross country trails nicely groomed. As well, outdoor rinks in the cities are staying frosty and ice covered.

Justin Behling, the superintendent at Shades Mills Conservation Area with the Grand River Conservation Authority, who says consistent cold temperatures has made it "the best winter in the past three years in terms of outdoor activities."

"We've certainly seen an increased number of colder days," Behling said. "In the past we've seen temperatures switch from cold to warm, which has caused us to obviously close, because we could lose our ice or we lose our snowpack."

That snow pack, which has depths of 10 to 15 cm on trails at Shades Mills, are perfect for people who want to try snowshoeing as the snow has a good depth.

"When you put the snowshoe down, you're not going to sink right to the bottom of the trail base," Behling said. Snowshoe and cross country ski rentals are available at the park.

Behling says crews keep a close watch on the frozen lakes where ice fishing is allowed which are Belwood Lake, Rockwood, Pinehurst, Shades Mills and Guelph Lake. The requirement is for a thickness of six inches before ice fishing is allowed.

Outdoor skating rinks and trails

The consistent cold days have been keeping outdoor skating rinks open for family skates and pick up hockey games at area parks.

It's also making the ice on the skating trail at Riverside Park in Guelph perfect for skaters. Brad Kelloway, program manager of parks, infrastructure and construction, says the trail is having a successful season after a rough start in 2017 when the weather wasn't as cold.

"[The ice skating trail] is 750 feet long, it's not refrigerated, so we're completely relying on Mother Nature. It's roughly about 10 feet wide," Kelloway said.

"It has both the spotlight system on the pole and we also have strong and have some outdoor lights that kind of string along and follow the trail itself. So each year is a little bit different where we can put it around the next group of trees."

All organizations and municipalities advise people who want to take part in outdoor winter activities to check websites for conditions before planning to head out.