["Your County Matters!" Main Menu] [Oswego County Homepage]

Throughout Oswego County, there are over 340 miles of snowmobile trails that offer riders the chance to take their snowmobiles literally almost anywhere in New York State.

Many residents and visitors enjoy snowmobiling as a winter recreational activity. The Tug Hill Plateau, including northern Oswego County, receives more snow than any other place on the East Coast, so the county is a natural destination for winter fun.

At the Legislature's meeting last Thursday, legislators approved a resolution to accept the county's annual allocation from the New York State Snowmobile Grant-in-Aid program for grooming trails. This funding will be distributed to the snowmobile clubs who contract with the county to groom the trails. They are the Fulton Area Snowmobile Travelers, Mexico Trail Riders, Pulaski-Boylston Snowmobile Club, Square Valley Trailblazers, Kasoag Lake Trailblazers, Redfield Snow and Recreation Club and Vanderbilt Snowmobile Club.

Three new trails were opened this year to access other parts of the state. New trails were developed north to Jefferson County, east into Lewis County and south into Onondaga County. The Clay Cicero Snow Owls will groom the new trail into Onondaga County and the Tug Hill Ski and Snow Club will grooms trails into Jefferson County through Winona State Forest. Other clubs groom trails in the other state-owned management areas and forests in the county.

Frequent mentions on the Weather Channel bring out-of-state enthusiasts and their sleds when there isn't much snow in their neighborhood. Many tourists trailer their sleds to Oswego County and then spend several days riding on the Tug Hill Plateau and Old Forge area.

A very popular snowmobile trail is the County's Recreation Trail, a 26-mile trail stretching from just outside of Fulton to the Oneida County line. The county recently purchased the trail from the New York State for $1 - a good price for year-round recreational opportunities!

The County's Department of Planning and Community Development administers the program. Although the County's Department of Public Works no longer grooms any of the trails in the winter, they continue to maintain the trails, cutting trees, stabilizing the trails and digging culverts as needed during other seasons.

This year's winter hasn't been the tough record-setting snowfall that we all experienced last year, but sled riders are enjoying the snow we have.