No snow no good for winter tourism, but there are some bright spots

Weeks of warmer-than-usual weather are having effects, both positive and negative, on local tourism but some recent investments have ensured some are still able to enjoy the winter activities they love.

At this time of year, tourists are usually flocking to the city to enjoy downhill and cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, ice skating, ice fishing and other winter activities, said Alana Kenopic, manager of travel and tourism at the City of Sault Ste. Marie.

But weeks of temperatures near or above zero degrees Celsius has put a damper on many of those activities or stopped them altogether.

“We’re finding it’s hard for people to get into that winter mindset right now,” said Kenopic. “There are two schools of thought here: there are those relishing in the thought it’s warm and they don’t have to shovel and then there’s those who are waiting for all of these winter activities to kick in.”

A light dusting of snow fell on the Sault overnight, but not enough yet to jumpstart any outdoor winter activities to any great degree. 

“The fact that we don’t have snow is disappointing from a tourism standpoint, for sure. Our hotels would love to have the snowmobile trails open and people coming up on buses to go skiing out at Stokely Creek,” said Kenopic. “We’re anxiously awaiting snow so we can get people here.”

One bright spot, said Kenopic, is that the warm weather has affected almost all of Ontario, so the Sault is not in any worse position than anywhere else in the province.

“It’s not like we’re at a disadvantage and people are taking the option to go somewhere else to participate in these activities,” she said. “That’s the only piece we are hanging onto is we are not alone here, no one is able to do these activities anywhere. What we are working on is to be ahead of the curve so when snow does arrive we are top of mind for people looking to come because our outdoor attractions here are world class.”

While many downhill ski resorts across Canada have temporarily closed during the warm spell, Searchmont Resort has been able to keep some of its runs in operation. Kenopic said strategic investments in snowmaking capability have so far paid off.

“They have been able, with the upgrades, to blow their own snow and create a decent base and it’s been getting cold enough to maintain that,” said Kenopic. “But they don’t have the whole hill open and I am sure they would like to have some natural snow in there to help offset that.”

Although the city’s outdoor rinks and ice skating trail have remained closed in recent weeks, the newly-opened rink at the downtown plaza has remained in almost continuous use.

“It’s a beautiful thing to have an outdoor skating opportunity for kids right now, especially for the kids off on holidays or for the people who are here visiting,” said Kenopic.

The rink opened on Nov. 18 and has been in almost constant operation, said Brent Lamming, the city’s director of Community Services.

“It’s only been closed down twice in that time frame and we actually got it back open in the evening on those two days,” he said.

The rink offers a refrigerated pad that allows it to be used even in the warmer weather that would close most outdoor rinks.

“The good thing during a winter like this — which we haven’t seen in a long time — is this investment has allowed people to still skate outdoors during weather that doesn’t allow us to build our outdoor skating rinks and trails,” he said.

Lamming said on the slowest days the rink has about 100 skaters per day.

“Right now with school out and on weekends we are seeing 300 easily throughout the day, so it’s very well utilized, especially right now through the holidays while children are off,” he said.

The plaza has also had a lot of use for its movie nights, concerts and other scheduled events.

Lamming noted the warmer weather has allowed more people to get out on the walking trails, boardwalk and other attractions that are often under-utilized in the winter months.

Kenopic said Tourism Sault Ste. Marie and the Bon Soo organizers are looking forward to the 61st edition of the Sault’s winter festival, scheduled to begin Feb. 2.

“I know the organizing committee is working hard on indoor and outdoor contingency plans should the snow not come through,” said Kenopic. “Obviously we want snow, the festival hinges on the outdoor piece, so we are actively doing snow dances waiting for the snow to arrive but should it not, Bon Soo will still go on and it will be a great festival. People need not worry there.”

Kenopic is also cautioning people who would usually be getting out on the lakes to ice fish at this time of year.

“The lakes are not necessarily frozen to the same level they would be in a typical January, so people who like to travel to go ice fishing — just a word of caution to make sure they are aware,” she said. “It’s deceiving. You think that there is ice because it’s cold but all it takes is a little current and it’s very dangerous. People need to be very aware if they are out doing those kinds of activities.”