BC Snowmobile Federation Bringing Recreation Infrastructure Conversation to SILGA Conference
This week, the BC Snowmobile Federation is attending the Southern Interior Local Government Association AGM and Conference in Revelstoke, meeting directly with MLAs and local government representatives from across British Columbia.
This year, the conversation is going beyond tourism numbers and economic impact alone.
The Federation has been highlighting the growing recognition that organized snowmobiling represents a significant investment into BC communities through volunteer-built recreation infrastructure, stewardship, and community-led outdoor recreation experiences.
Across the province, local snowmobile clubs are building, maintaining, and caretaking trail systems, shelters, staging areas, signage, safety programs, and access infrastructure that support both residents and visitors alike. Collectively, organized snowmobiling in BC helps manage more than 18,000 km of trails and over 90 recreation sites, making snowmobile clubs one of the largest managers of public recreation infrastructure in British Columbia outside of BC Parks.
Much of this work operates through a grassroots user-pay model — funded directly by memberships, user trail fees, and rider investment rather than taxpayer dollars.
Just as importantly, the work is powered by volunteers.
Behind every groomed trail, maintained shelter, safe access route, and community event is a network of local clubs contributing thousands of volunteer hours back into their communities each year. In nearly every corner of the province, there is a snowmobile club who not only delivers recreation opportunities, but who also helps steward and caretake the landscapes where those experiences happen.
photo: Lee Onslow, Electoral Area “B” Director for the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, shared the importance of snowmobiling to both her community and her own personal connection to the outdoors, following the BCSF presentation.
The conference has also provided an opportunity for the Federation to share preliminary insights from its ongoing socio-economic impact study, alongside findings from the Federation’s 2018 economic impact study, which identified snowmobiling as generating approximately $299.2 million in annual economic output in British Columbia each year.
While those economic impacts remain important, the Federation is now expanding that work to better understand and communicate the broader social and community value created through organized recreation.
That includes the role recreation infrastructure plays in supporting rural resilience, healthy lifestyles, tourism development, stewardship, and opportunities for people to connect with the outdoors and with each other.
For the Federation, the message to government is clear: snowmobile clubs are doing far more than maintaining trails. They are helping build connected, active, and resilient communities across British Columbia.
The Federation continues to encourage local governments to discover the work happening in their own backyard and connect with the local snowmobile clubs helping make it happen.
Snowmobile Tourism Recreation in Action
Across British Columbia, organized snowmobiling helps support local businesses, tourism, recreation infrastructure, and vibrant rural communities.
Communities like Fernie and Valemount are strong examples of how snowmobilers, local clubs, businesses, tourism organizations, and government can work together to sustainably support outdoor recreation and winter tourism.
