Frequently Asked Questions

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Snowmobiling is a popular winter pastime on Vancouver Island. The Island climate often produces several meters of snow at higher elevations. The season typically starts mid to late December and can extend late into April and May.

The spine of Vancouver Island is extremely rugged mountainous terrain.  The highest peaks reach over 2000 meters. Snowmobiling occurs in certain areas on the flanks of some of these mountains. Logging roads and cut-blocks provide trail and open area riding. Riding in mature second growth treed areas is also popular. Alpine riding is limited due to Provincial Park and Private Land restrictions. Areas are small  compared to mainland areas.  The wet marine climate often prduces low snow conditions in valley bottoms.  This limits mountain to mountain riding.

Vancouver Island has two active snowmobile clubs. The Mid-Island Sno-Blazers Association manage and maintain 4 riding areas. Mt. Washington, west of Courtenay. Bacon Lake, west of Campbell River, The Beauforts,  north of Port Alberni and also accessed from the east at Buckley Bay.  Finally, McGlaughlin Ridge/Labour Day Lake, east of Port Alberni and also accessed from south Nanaimo.

The second club is the North Island Snowmobile Association. NISA manage and maintains one area,  Mt. Adrian, west of Campbell River.  Both clubs are Member Clubs of the British Columbia Snowmobile Federation and partner with private forest land owners for riding access.

The land owners have several requirements to legally operate Off-Road Vehicles on their land.  One of those requirements is belonging to a club with an access agreement. You put yourself at risk of trespassing charges by not following the land owners rules while on their private property. Requiring riders to be club members takes away  the task of having to manage each individual wanting access with ORV's. The participating clubs do all the record keeping  and keep the land owner up to date. See Access Webpage https://www.mosaicforests.com/access 

Mid Vancouver Island has approximately  600,000 hectares of private property informally known as the private forest lands. The two island snowmobile clubs gain access to designated areas by entering into an annual agreement with the forest company. This agreement starts on or about November 1st, and ends the last day of June. This legal document contains all the necessary requirements, conditions and rules that allow members of the MISB to gain access and ride snowmobiles on private land. There is a substantial financial cost for the agreement and access fees along with maintaining the club requirements to remain compliant.  This money comes from membership dues and access fees. See guide to accessing MISB riding areas.

ORV licensing and registration is legally required in BC. The club access agreement also requires it, along with third party liability insurance

The forest company want records maintained on who has access to their property along with the ability to identify them if necessary. This is done using vehicle registration. The forest land owners do have security patrols and occasional checks with the RCMP in attendance at entry points and gates.

 The ORV liability insurance is to to ensure  any snowmobiler on forest company land has the means to cover any damages or injuries to the company and/or other people.

The Off Road Vehicle licensing in BC changed several years ago. Many older sled have a yellow with black numbers licensing decal. This decal was a one time purchase and stayed on the snowmobile through all owners. These are no longer valid. The new system copies regular motor vehicle registration. It is renewed annually  and the decal is white with black letters & numbers. With the $200,000 Road Crossing Liability Insurance the cost is approximately $75 this year. This insurance has many restrictions and limited coverage. It is not sufficient insurance to satisfy the forest land owners. Private ORV Liability insurance is purchased through some ICBC brokers. $2,000,000 liability coverage last year was $52. For half the price of a good spare belt you can be legal and cover your butt with some insurance.

The forest companies have countless gates blocking entrance into the private forest lands on Vancouver Island. They use two types of gates. Electronic controlled gates are located at main entry points and require a programmed card to open and close. These gates monitor who and when someone passes through. It also monitors whether the gate was locked or unlocked. This information is relayed to the forest company office.

Many carded gates are open to the general public at certain times. These gates are scheduled to open and close from 6:00 am to 4:00 pm weekends and stat holidays during the winter. Riding is allowed 1 hour before sunrise to 1 hour after sunset.  Any delays returning can result in being stuck behind a locked gate. There can also be times general public openings do not occur in designated snowmobiling areas. This why some members choose to obtain an access card. Access card holders are responsible for ensuring all parties given access on their card are MISB members and meet the requirements to ride in the designated areas.

Secondary gates are typically located on branch lines. These gates require a key. Each key only works in its assigned area but opens all secondary gates in that area. Secondary gates are less of an issue once there is enough snow. These gates are equipped with special keys that cannot be copied. The MISB pays a $500 deposit on each key. To keep costs reasonable we limit  each area to two keys. Prior notice and a  refundable $100 deposit is required if a member  wants a secondary gate key for the day.

There are two opposing views regarding trees. The snowmobilers view is to avoid hitting bigger trees for obvious reasons but tend to give much less consideration to smaller ones or the tops off larger ones. The forest company's likely could care less if you  hit a bigger tree but care a lot if you are damaging small trees and taking the tops off larger ones in deep snow. Trees are their crop. Any damage that breaks off branches or remove bark puts the tree at risk of disease or insects. When a smaller tree gets run over it can be partially uprooted,  bent over and/or the trunk gets cracked. Even if it survives, the tree will grow in a curve trying to go vertical again. When the crown gets broken off, a stem takes over and also grows in a curve to vertical. It's like the tree starting over from that point. Needless to say, both occurrences  devalue the tree. Are you going to miss them all? Unlikely, but make an effort and avoid going off the trail during low snow conditions. The forest company is serious about this. There is a provision in the access agreement to cancel it for tree damage caused by snowmobilers.

The area surrounding  Mt. Washington Ski Resort is popular for snowmobiling. It is conveniently located, the Strathcona Parkway is always plowed, there are no gates so many people assume it must be crown land and open to all. The reality is, all the land surrounding Mt. Washington is private land or  park land.  The MISB became responsible for managing and maintaining the designated snowmobile area around Mt. Washington after the Comox Valley Snowmobile club ceased to exist. All the same requirements, conditions and rules apply here just as they do at the three other MISB areas.  This area also has many low risk general public users on or near the snowmobile trails. C/C skiers, snow-shoers, kids tobogganing etc. The MISB is only interested in informing, not enforcing. That is the responsibility of the forest company. There are two points to consider. If a rider is not a club member, legally they are trespassing. If that rider causes injury or damage to someone else or their equipment it could be assumed they're at fault because they should not have been there. The second point is the MISB spends considerable money maintaining access and trail grooming. The club would consider making improvements like a shelter, more grooming better parking,but it takes money and work. That money and work comes from members. So please support the club by joining.