Ordered mine a few days ago.

 

I would say a yearly trail permit in Michigan for $52 is a good bargain after looking at the Quebec pricing.

Don~

 

Completely different can of worms. Quebec has - objectively - the best trail system in the world. And the permit price reflects that. Ontario is almost half the price at $200, and our trail system is still very very good. But here's the real kicker...

...The states seem to throw tax dollars at the problem, and heavily subsidize snowmobiling in every state it's available. For God knows what reason, we don't do that up here. This pisses me off more than I can explain. Objective 3rd party studies show that ontario snowmobiling contributes something like 3 BILLION in direct economic activity. And so every few years the province chips in 500k here and there.

Talk about a return in investment... it makes me sick.

And the entire network is run by volunteers, because without any government funding whatsoever, the permit prices barely cover grooming and infrastructure costs. Ugh.

Anyways, yes, Michigan and Wisconsin and AFAIK Minnesota and NY are all less than $100 for respectable trail systems, whereas canada charges a few hundred. But ultimately compared to gas, insurance, sled payments, accessories. The works. It's still BY FAR the cheapest aspect of the sport, and at least in canada, cheaper than any other seasons pass (even the worst ski hill imaginable will charge $500 plus....)

 

But is it really? The Quebec trails are far superior to most Michigan trails. I’ve rode both

 

The cost also pays for $1,000,000 in public liability insurance coverage.

Quebec has a large trail system. Most trails are far away from the main corridor where most visitors will go riding. For where I ride the trails are the same as most everywhere else. Same problems and same bad years. Last year was the all time record for having no groomed trails for a very large sector on the South and East side of Montreal. We normally get at least a week, but nothing. My little sector is sorta isolated in a wooded area near the border with NYS and we actually did get a week or so, but still the worst ever with lots of bare patches.

On Google Earth you can see the dark wooded areas. The shade lighter is the Saint-Lawrence Low Lands which are mostly open fields.

 

One needs to be pretty far South to be without any snow. I had snow cover half the winter, but never enough for good trails. Having stones sticking out of the trail is not much fun.

I cannot predict if this season will be better, but I think that I have a better chance at winning the lottery than it being equal or worse. Chances are that I will be getting a least two weeks lol

 

...The states seem to throw tax dollars at the problem, and heavily subsidize snowmobiling in every state it's available.

Not even close to true. Michigan's trail money comes from registrations and snow passes. There is generally an excess of funds at the end of each year. That maybe to due to the recent poor winters. Everyone buys passes being optimistic and the weather ends up sucking for sledding. The land is all either public land or private donated land. There maybe some small amount of taxpayer money somewhere, but in researching this just now I couldn't find any.

And the entire network is run by volunteers, because without any government funding whatsoever, the permit prices barely cover grooming and infrastructure costs. Ugh.

Michigan's trails both ORV and Snowmobile are 100% maintained by volunteers thru clubs. This is a double edged sword. You will see the quality of trails can vary wildly from county to county as clubs are generally county based and some areas have trouble finding volunteers due to a lack of population and age. I am aware of at least one or two areas that contract out the grooming. But it doesn't change where the money comes from.

I have never ridden in Quebec. Maybe soon. But my first instinct is that the real issue with the quality of trails here is our irregular snow conditions and location. There are areas that have fantastic trails even with minimal snow. Others suck with plenty of snow. It can vary. But you know what? This was snowmobiles, not Cadillac SUVs. Few of us expect or need perfect trails. Many of our trails aren't really trails you' consider "fast" due to the terrain.

I can tell you that there are a lot of younger people and lower income people that ride in Michigan. If the trail passes were even $100 or $200 dollars the numbers of riders buying the passes would seriously drop and trail quality wouldn't change much. It's like a business trying to decide what to sell a product for. Too low and you can't be a business making money. Too high and you price yourself out of customers. And you end up with the same problem for a different reason. Good luck making it up enforcing it on the trails. As that costs money too even if you can catch enough of the scofflaws!

There's more that goes into all of this. But throwing tax payer money at it is far from what happens here at least.

 

What are people doing for a VIN number if they don't have their new sled yet, in order to buy the FCMQ trail pass before November 1, this Friday?
I was just going to create a new sled profile and put a bunch of X's but will that create an issue if I get stopped this winter and the Trail pass documents don't have my VIN number?

 

I wouldn’t worry about it and put a bunch of X’s. Just keep and carry the paperwork with the dates of when the sled was bought/ delivered.