News | 2019
To anyone who has registered for the ride originally scheduled for October 19th – it is being rescheduled to October 12th – this is to avoid the opening day of Moose Hunting Season – you should have received an email explaining this – and asking you to reply if you can make the new date – the 12th…
Note that we will be holding 2 rides that day and the 5-points ride has limited space – so if you have also registered for the Ride to Haliburton on the 12th – you should attend that one..sorry for any confusion !!!
As hunting season approaches please remember that as of October 1st KATVA trail #50 will be closed to all motorized users. The is at the request of the multiple landowners on that trail who made this a condition of allowing us to keep a trail through their property and we completely respect their request. This is the trail that goes from the 5 points to Crystal Lake rd and connects with the village of Kinmount. Please respect our landowners and stay off this trail as of October 1st until the trails reopen next spring.
Each individual should verify the hunting season dates for their specific areas. The hunting season dates for those areas including our trails follow:
Black Bear – from September 1 to November 30
Moose – from October 19 to 25
Deer – rifle – November 4 to 17
– bow and Black Powder – December 2 to 8
– Bow Only – October 1 – Nov 3, Nov 18 to Dec 1, Dec 9 to 15
Signage has been installed at the top of trail 50 for the impending closure for the season on Oct 1. The landowners have very graciously allowed us to ride their properties for the lion’s share of our season. They have closed the trail so they can have some time to quietly enjoy their properties. They also do not want anyone trespassing during the hunting season. Please make note of this annual closure if you are planning a Five Points ride after the end of this month.
KATVA ride schedule – register for a ride !!!!! To all riders looking to join a club led ride – these are found on our website katva.ca under ride schedule. We ask that you register for the ride – and please not last minute. The demand for our rides has really grown to the stage that we need to limit the number of riders on some of the rides – this is a safety and practicality issue – we have only so many volunteers as ride leaders, sweep, and helpers for these rides and too many riders just makes the ride unmanageable. Gone are the days when you could just show up and join the ride – When you register pay close attention to the ride details – if the ride is a beginner ride – it goes at a slower pace – and will not include really difficult trails, and mud wherever possible. this makes it a bit boring for expert riders. if it is an expert ride — then beginners would have great difficulty on the ride – stick to those rides that match your skill level. Don’t be disappointed – register for the ride as early as you can – this week we have had to turn some away from the July 6th ride – there were just too many for our volunteers to handle !!!!
Join us for a great day of riding on some of Ontario’s most sought after trails, with a poker run, prizes, dinner and so much more, all while helping to raise money for the Ross Memorial Hospital Foundation for our local community!
Ride Registration: 8:00am to 9:30am, Log Chateau Park, Fenelon Falls.
Registration is $50 per rider or participating passenger
$15 fee for passengers or guests coming for dinner only
First place poker hand $500, second place $250, third place $150
Riders depart 8:30am to 9:30am from Log Chateau
Return to Burnt River Community Centre for dinner, 4:00pm to 6:00pm.
ATV’s and Side by Sides, including passengers are welcome at this event. There will be some road riding so all riders must have a minimum G2 license and all passengers must be at least 8 years of age.
On site camping available. Contact Log Chateau Park to reserve your campsite.
A KATVA, HATVA or Quad Niagara trail pass is required for this event. Passengers do not require a trail pass.
Day passes are available online for pre-purchase before the event (fastest option) as well as available to purchase day of the ride at registration for $20
Silent auction, find the joker 50/50, door prizes after the ride as well as your chance to buy KATVA gear.
Please bring a lunch, drinking water and extra gas. Make sure your rad is clean or you will overheat and not make it through the ride. Alcohol is prohibited at this event.
Update – message from Haliburton County Public Works Department
“Good Afternoon all,
Please be advised that the Haliburton County Rail Trail will not open tomorrow May 1 2019. Due to trail conditions it will be closed until further notice.”
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Update – News Release from the City of Kawartha Lakes – April 30/19.
“MNRF advises extreme caution when using forest access roads for outdoor activities. Many are seasonally inundated with water, prone to washouts, and may be impassable due to current water levels. The public should avoid crossing any submerged roads as there may be a risk to traveler safety.”
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Update as of April 29/19
As of today all trails will open on schedule May 1st with the following exceptions due to rain and flooding:
– Trail 30 – Millenium Trail closed – to be reassessed June 1st
– Trail 96 – Millenium Trail (Expert bypass) closed – to be reassessed June 1st
– Trail 50 – route from Kinmount to 5 Points closed, the gates will remain closed and locked until further notice – to be reassessed May 15th
At the moment all other trails will open on time May 1st but please use caution when riding to prevent any damage as there may be other trails that are soft
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Update!! Anyone traveling the rail trail from Superior north please be careful around the 6th concession and stay to the right side. The left or west side is quite wet.
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We will provide further updates as we have them so please check this post or our website before heading out on the trails!
Update as of April 29/19 – As of today all trails will open on schedule May 1st with the following exceptions due to rain and flooding:
– Trail 30 – Millenium Trail closed – to be reassessed June 1st
– Trail 96 – Millenium Trail (Expert bypass) closed – to be reassessed June 1st
– Trail 50 – route from Kinmount to 5 Points closed, the gates will remain closed and locked until further notice – to be reassessed May 15th
At the moment all other trails will open on time May 1st but please use caution when riding to prevent any damage as there may be other trails that are soft
We will provide further updates as we have them so please check this post or our website before heading out on the trails!
Great News Everyone!!! CKL council approved our request to amend the road bylaw which will allow side by sides to travel on any road in the City of Kawartha Lakes where ATVs are currently allowed to travel. This will allow you to ride from Kinmount all the way down into Fenelon Falls for food or gas. The only difference between ATVs and Side By Sides in the CoKL bylaws now is that ONLY ATV’s are allowed on the VRTC between Northline Rd and Garnet Graham Park, and ONLY ATV’s are allowed south of the village of Fenelon Falls on the VRTC during this 7 month trial period. No SXS are allowed south of Fenelon Falls, or on the small section of VRTC from Northline Rd to Garnet Graham Park, under any circumstances. Please respect the rules as this is only for a trial period and we are at risk of losing this privilege if we have irresponsible riders breaking the rules. We’ll post more information before the trails open on May 1st. Congratulations everyone and thank you again to our councilors, city staff, Somerville Forest committee and president Carolyn Richards for making this happen. It’s been a two year project to get this far, let’s make it a permanent bylaw change !!!!!
The team here at KATVA pride ourselves on always thinking outside the box and we’re never afraid to try something new. In that spirit we are excited to announce another first for the off road motorsports groups in Ontario!!! After almost a year of planning we are partnering with the Ontario Federation of Trail Riders (OFTR) to launch a new chapter club of the OFTR called the Kawartha Off Road Motorcycle Association (KORMA). KORMA will be run under the direction of the current KATVA board of directors and will operate under the umbrella of KATVA.
We saw an opportunity to open and promote our trails to off road motorcycle enthusiasts as we are seeing more and more families with both ATVs and dirt bikes who want to be able to ride together. While some of the trails in our area have been open to off road motorcycles for many years, none of the trails have been mapped or properly signed, but we’re going to change all that. We have plans to not only map the existing trails, but we will be building new single track trails in the future. We will also be working closely with our neighbors to the north, the Haliburton Trail Riders, and we look forward to learning best practices from them.
Stay tuned, we will continue to post more information as we continue to develop this new organization.
Today the City of Kawartha Lakes Council voted unanimously in favor of our proposal to allow side by sides on the Victoria Rail Trail Corridor from Superior Propane staging area north to Kinmount, as well as in the Sommerville Forest Tract on a one year trial period. There will be a width restriction of 64 inches including all modifications and a minimum age requirement of 8 years of age for all passengers, which is modeled after Reg 316/03 and applies to ATVs as well. They also discussed our request to amend the road bylaw to allow them on all roads that ATVs are currently allowed on and that will go back to council in April for a vote. Thank you to those of you who wrote letters or emails of support. We have seen those letters as well as those who were opposed and want to say how happy we are with the respectful manner in which you addressed this issue with the councilors and mayor. Thank you to all the councilors for seeing the big picture and putting your faith in our members. I have to say that the current council has been the most welcoming and receptive council I’ve ever worked with as a whole. The mayor has also been very supportive of this initiative since the beginning. A special note of thanks to councilors Kathleen Seymour-Fagan and Doug Elmslie who helped push this initiative forward at council. Last but definitely not least I want to thank former councilor and fellow Somerville Forest Committee member Dave Hodgson. Dave and I have been working together on this initiative for almost a year with countless hours spent in meetings, phone calls and emails trying to make sure we haven’t left anything out that would leave doubt in the councilors minds. We’ve done our job and now it’s up to you to do yours. We have one year to prove to council that they were right in supporting us so let’s not disappoint them or give them a reason not to make this access permanent. Before the trails open we will post more details and guidelines for the sxs use on these trails and roads. Until then, please respect the volunteers and landowners and stay off of the trails.
Regards,
Carolyn Richards
President
Our Annual General Meeting will be held on April 14th from 1pm to 3pm. This is open to all members in good standing. Come and get information about what we have accomplished in 2018 and what the plans are for 2019. We will be electing our Board of Directors for 2019.
Immediately after our meeting we will be having a volunteer meet and greet – hoping to line up our Trail Coordinators, Trail Patrol Leaders, and Board with those who have offered to help us out. We are a volunteer organization counting on our volunteers to help us establish new trails, maintain existing trails and keep things going!!! Come join us !!!!