With Mother Nature blessing the Valley with some colder temps and some great snow falls early in the season, myself and long time sleddin’ buddy Jamie Colvin, were more than ready to set off to Calabogie in District 1 for a few awesome days of riding. We were meeting up with the Sonya crew who were already booked in for the week at Calabogie Lodge Resort.
After a couple years of absence to the area, I was more than eager to saddle up and make the trek east. We have been riding this area for a number of years now, and it does do battle for top spot on my list of favorite spots to ride in Ontario. With an excellent mix of trails and terrain, you can have your choice of some great tight “twisties” and awesome elevation changes with scenic views, to some well groomed rail lines.  The Ottawa Valley boasts 2400 km of groomed TOP and local club trails, all between Ottawa and Algonquin Park, all spread over district 1 and 6.  Check out www.ottawavalley.org  to find all the available great accommodations to suit your needs and budget while visiting either district.

Our accommodations at Calabogie Lodge Resort were also one of my favorites. The Chalets are two and three bedroom units, all equipped with a kitchen and dining area, living room and flat screen TV, and a gas fireplace. The main lodge has some great dining available at the “Ducks” restaurant, with an indoor pool under a solarium setting, and a hot tub and sauna to have a soak or good sweat in after a long days ride.
For this adventure to Calabogie we pulled our sleds out of the stable to tour the Valley, and what a “Perfect Combo” for the trails around Calabogie. We weren’t disappointed!
Once our sleds and gear were loaded, and we were finally in the truck traveling east from the GTA along Hwy 7, we made a quick stop at Bonter Marine to pick up a spare belt for our Polaris Shift. The guys at Bonter were excellent, and of course they had the belt in stock. They are a long time family owned and operated dealership, and the boys there were well in tune with our favorite sport. I would recommend a stop in there any time.
After stopping a few more times along the way for some groceries and last minute items, and of course some after ride beverages, we found the time nearing dusk as we arrived. We decided to get settled and catch up with the crew from Sonya that we were meeting. 

On this two day get away, we rode out of the lodge each day and returned back. This was not a bagging from destination to destination tour with these great accommodations and endless day loops at our finger tips. So we mapped out a couple of good runs that we have enjoyed in the past. There are some great day loops to ride, no matter how long your daily ride preference is. There are loops that will satisfy the most hardcore miler, right down to the short, family scenic day tours. The Chalets also have lots of parking for your sleds, right out side your door. 

As we set out the next morning after a great breakfast cooked by “Chef” Chris, and our destination plan in mind, we were headed southwest out of Calabogie on the main E trail, looking for the E102 cut off for the Mountain Chute trail. This trail has some great hill climbs and is fast and challenging with some aggressive turns and some awesome hydro cut running, which I could play on all day long!! Once we reached the dam at Mountain Chute on E102, it was time take a break and take in the views of the Dam and the fast running water of the Madawaska River. This Dam is one of the Ontario Power Generation’s non-nuclear power generating stations, and is really something to see. The safety warnings in this area are more than clearly marked. And it’s a wise choice to obey these warnings!   

                                  
From the Dam we stayed on the E102, working our way northwest up to Griffith in district 6. Once you reach The Pine Valley Restaurant which is right on the trail, you are going to need fuel and this is the spot to stop, not only to fuel up the sled, but yourself too. They have premium fuel at the pumps, and some of the best eats you would ever want to find. “Can you say home cookin’?” The Pine Valley is an owner operated diner that you will be marking on your trail map as your lunch destination, every time you are in that neck of the woods. After an hour or so at the Pine Valley and being served by a great, friendly staff, we were full of fuel and had a great lunch in our bellies. We were on the trail again on the E102, still heading northbound. 

Now, this trail out of Griffith is one my favorites in all of Ontario, as it offers up some multiple elevation changes as you climb into the hills and back down into the valleys. You touch a great stretch of some great winding logging roads that keep a grin on your face the entire time. Although it is a really good idea to keep an eye out for Bambi, this area seems to hold a lot of wildlife, and provides some great sightseeing if that is what you’re into. This E102 trail runs due north to Eganville, and gets two thumbs up every time I ride it. We only stayed on the E102 for about 18 miles before we caught the club trail 108, that steered us off to the east thru the small hamlet of Dacre and on towards Renfrew. The E105A rail line is just west of Renfrew, and that was our trail south, back down to Calabogie, where we ended this great day with a few arm drop drags in front of our Lodge for a few bragging rights and good laughs.

Although this is only day one of our two days of riding, we had another exciting day mapped out for day two heading eastbound. We were up, ready and eager at the crack of 10:00 a.m., and back in the saddle of our sleds again. Heading due east on the main E trail towards White Lake, with our sights set for a late lunch stop at Finnigans Road House in Renfrew. This piece of trail heading east was mint, running mainly hydro cuts with more twisties and grade changes, we were cloning our first day’s ride right off the get go. The trails were in great shape and well marked by the local club, and it was what every sledder hopes to find for their day of riding.  We kept heading east on the E trail towards Arnprior and made the odd detour off the main trail onto some superb local club trails that kept us wanting to squeeze that throttle. While not setting out for a huge miler day, we found ourselves playing on some exciting trails that we even doubled back on a few times just for kicks. Having the luxury of not having any time limits on our route, it was one of the best calls we made all weekend. With a few rest stops thrown in, we finally found ourselves at the door step of Finnigans Road House. With parking for your sled out back and just a stones throw off the trail in Downtown Renfrew, Finnigans is another must stop with a great menu to choose from. And the staff is awesome!!!

Renfrew is a very sled friendly town, and it’s quite obvious that they do their best to cater to the snowmobiling community.

After our stop at Finnigans, we took the main trail out of Renfrew, heading west to hook up to the E105A trail back down to Calabogie, to close out our last day of the weekend in the Ottawa Valley.
As our adventure was now nearing a close, except for the trek back home, I can honestly say that after not riding the southern part of the Valley for two seasons, I was more than satisfied with my trip back to the Ottawa Valley and can’t wait to ride it again in 2010.

I have to end this editorial by saying; if you have never ridden the Ottawa Valley, you must round up your sleddin’ buddies and schedule this trip on your 2010 season agenda. You won’t regret it!