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From Club Passe Partout Update R355 We are pleased to announce that rights of way for the Lac Bouchette and Kiskisink sectors have been granted! Club Passe Partout Inc. would like to thank the landowners who granted us this right. We would also like to thank the Municipality of Lac Bouchette, the Domaine du Roy RCM, and the Zec Kiskisink for their valuable collaboration.

Open this season "*Good news for snowmobilers!* The Chic-Choc trail between Relais La Cache and Murdochville will finally be open for the 2025-2026 season! The repairs to the three bridges were a success and were even completed ahead of schedule. A remarkable achievement by the Étoile des Monts de Murdochville 111-01 Snowmobile Club Congratulations to the team and volunteers for their hard work and dedication. Their determination made it possible to overcome challenges and make this iconic trail accessible to snowmobilers. Support the club!

New bypass trail is Finished and open for business

I need to upgrade next year. We are 100% on trail. No power steering would be a deal breaker for us. You really can’t just test drive a EPS sled to get the improvement in enjoyment/fatigue. You need a 3 day run minimum. It’s beyond time it was offered. Hopefully it comes quicker than LED lights did. Meantime glad to hear there is a aftermarket EPS option coming for these at some point as someone that likes the bigger 4 stroke turbo/ lots of storage/ trail touring type ride. Lisa and I have 2 EPS sleds…one factory/one aftermarket. There is no downside IMO.👍

355 having a tough go all around. I still remember my first runs up 355…. Circa 2008. I will try to find the pictures. I wanted to find an alternate way up to the Holiday Inn in Jonquiere from the standard 23 out of Sweet Baby St Ray. So we ventured westward out of the Roq up 73 and banged a right on 355, stop at the old Relais du Trappeur for a minute then head Nord, cross Lac Edouard… we would always loose track of where we were supposed to get off the lake, they still don’t stake it. Next stop was the gas station in Lac Bouchette, we stopped counting on the restaurant next door, I still have never seen it open to this day. I also don’t recall ever seeing anybody dare to go straight up the hill in front of the gas station. Saddlebag trips usually take the cowboy out of the wild ones. Back then you had to go through Lac Bouchette and up to Chambord before you could head east, the right onto 357 didn’t run where it does now. It made for a long day and would cut down on time and energy spent at Juniors that night. I would say the grooming is usually not as active on 355 as compared to 23, however there is way less traffic. It’s not quite as wide either, but through the Kiskissink great. Sorry for the long rant. Love talking about the memories made on all the trips through the years. Here are some pics of last years rip up 355. Tony temporarily misplaced his sled key at Eva on a Sunday when the place was packed. That was a real hoot until he found it.

Apparently access to Lac Bouchette has been negotiated successfully. Now working on passage through Zec Kissisink

📌 𝗥𝗲́𝗼𝘂𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝘂 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲 𝗟 𝗮 𝗖𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗲́𝘀𝗶𝗲 A press release has just been issued announcing the long-awaited reopening of the legendary Sentier de La Cache trail in the Gaspé Peninsula. This iconic 77-kilometer route, connecting Murdochville to Relais de La Cache in the heart of the Gaspé mountains, is once again accessible to snowmobilers. Closed for two winters due to the decommissioning of three bridges in the Chic-Chocs Wildlife Reserve, this strategic link is now fully operational. Thanks to an exceptional mobilization effort, more than $1.6 million in investments have made it possible to: • Rebuild three 60-ton bridges • The upgrading of several kilometers of Provincial Trail 597, including two kilometers in the mountains • Improved drainage • The recertification of the York Campground bridge • The acquisition of a new groomer and scraper 👉 To read the full press release: https://www.fcmq.qc.ca/actualites

Great info, thank you very much! Yeah his trailer was definitely on its last legs… glad he bought a new one and is continuing to help us all out.

I just spoke to Jean Marc . Very flexible he can start as early as 6am and his new drop off is 2 km west of the Colibri. He prefers to be contacted the day before to set a pick up time. He told me he was burned 3 times last year when people did not show up. PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS AS QUEBECRIDERS!!! Pick up same as before Normandin.

10km detour around logging ops. Just fyi

The Quebec Federation of Snowmobile Clubs has decided to make significant changes to the interactive map and iMotoneige. According to officials, the goal of these changes is to make life easier for snowmobilers. From now on, snowmobilers will be able to see the location of groomers on open trails only. But the main change is that there will no longer be traditional trail conditions. These are being replaced by trail status, which will be indicated as open or closed," explains Alain Laliberté, geomatics specialist at the Quebec Federation of Snowmobile Clubs. There were several reasons for this significant change. "We wanted to give clubs more control over the management of their data. Trail conditions were rather arbitrary depending on the person in charge. They could change quickly during the course of a single day. We are eliminating an intermediary for faster management of updates. The processing time also caused frustration and confusion among snowmobilers. Clubs could announce on their social media that their trails were in good condition, but there was a delay before the information appeared on the interactive map." THE ROLE OF THE CLUBS The specialist explains that managing conditions was becoming increasingly demanding. "It's important to understand that we've had slower starts to the season in recent years. The season no longer begins with cold weather and snow that stays on the ground for a long time. It was becoming very difficult to keep trail conditions up to date. Clubs will have to do their own updates." The Federation has simplified the task for clubs. "With the trail status being open or closed, it becomes simpler for them. We have provided them with tools to make their job easier with alerts from drop-down menus. They will be able to quickly report problems such as a river that is not frozen, for example. Also, when the trails are closed, the groomers will no longer appear. Control will be better and the information that circulates will be accurate." IMPROVED PERFORMANCE FCMQ leaders have also improved the performance of the iMotoneige app and interactive map. "Snowmobilers will be able to count on automatic updates in the future. Clubs will also have better technological tools. At the last convention, we presented the project to them and explained the tools they will be able to use to do so. They were happy with these new features." Since last year, safety terminals have been installed. These terminals come from Public Safety. They are installed throughout Quebec. Information is written on them, such as the coordinates of the sign in question. If people are in distress, they can contact emergency services and give their location. I selected all the terminals and indicated those that are less than 500 meters from the trails. For snowmobilers, they appear on the interactive map. These terminals are installed by the government. " SAFE HOTELS For more than two decades, the Safe Hotels program has been designed to give you peace of mind when traveling. "To be eligible for this program, accommodations must offer at least one security measure," explains Michel Garneau, editor-in-chief of Motoneige Québec magazine. This can mean access to a locked garage or enclosure, providing a chain free of charge, having a camera system, or having a security guard service. For a list of secure hotels, visit: www.fcmq.qc.ca/motoneigistes/planifier-sortie-motoneige-quebec/hotels-securitaire.

La Cache to Murdochville trail back on the FCMQ interactive map! That seems like a good sign to me.

N46.74941° W71.43636°

This is great news. The provincial govt needs to step forward faster when these issues start happening. Next it could be the ferry terminals at Matane/Baie Comeau or a sidewalk in La Tuque. Snowmobiling generates a multi BILLON dollar economic impact every year in the province, treat the business with the respect it deserves. Sepaq, Zec, etc should not be allowed to negatively impact at will snowmobiling.

Here is the new pick up point on the north side.

Just called Jean Marc now. See my notes below.

Some good news

You can't expect those carbides to last forever! I would not avoid the area because of 300m. Hopefully fixed by January.

Agree 100% Day Time grooming complete waste. Breaking trail after a storm is not grooming, so that i have no issues with. I would go as far as close trails at 11PM. Just for grooming. Nothing good happens on trails after that hour at night.

The issue seems to have died. Off trail riders are being charged. Stick to the trail with a FCMQ permit and no charge. But who knows. There is lots of Zecs in the province. They seem to rear their heads and make waves in different areas in different ways each year.

It seems bizarre. They must have had a lot of issues/complaints regarding trails getting ripped up. Seems like a trail can be destroyed with any track depending on the throttle jockey operating the sled...🧐

!! !!️Info L-200!!️ ️ We wish to inform you about the recent development regarding the maintenance of the road L-200 Facing the uncertainty of the last few days and knowing that the L-200 Association no longer had the financial resources to ensure the maintenance, the ZEC had planned to intervene temporarily, time to make a decision during the AGE. Our goal was simple: to avoid a service disruption and ensure that access to the territory remains secure. It was not about getting ahead or taking anyone's place, but ensuring continuity for our users. Or, the L-200 Association finally confirmed that it fully resumed its role. With this reversal, the ZEC is withdrawing and leaving the Association to assume its full responsibility, as it announced.

The administration work to say landowners can have a free permit is easier said than done. What if next he wants a permit for his wife's sled, or his grand child's sled. What if he doesn't live on the property or any roads on the lot except the trail. Thousands of private pieces of land are crossed in the province by sled trails, should every landowner get a free permit. Should they get free running on 33,000 km of FVMQ trail because the trail crossed 200m of their private land?? Easy to say give them a free permit.....however where do you draw the line. This sort of thing needs to be dealt with at the club level.

Sent an email to the club this morning about the trail change and very promptly recieved this: Hello Yes, the trail is closed for the 2025-2026 season due to a bridge that is outdated. Steps are being taken to replace this bridge. We are awaiting the plans and specifications from the engineers, after which we will begin the search for funding. The safety of snowmobilers is our priority. We wish you a good season nonetheless. Diane Gallant, Secretary

Lets Go…… Government of Quebec time to step it up!

Please let reasonable minds prevail. This is not rocket science.

300m is like 50 feet with the exchange rate I'm thinking 🤔 😅

Most of the time I 100% agree. Traffic, temps and unit availability are the big discussion. If 50 plus hrs of nighttime grooming a week doesn’t cover everything that needs to be done then clubs have no choice, but to add day shifts and dbl shift their units. It’s how and when they’re added that matters. Monday morning on an unpopular club trail when it’s 20 below can yield good results. Saturday afternoon when riders are out everywhere and temps are hovering around freezing leads to very poor results.

As much as I like seeing a groomer on the trail when its during the day I see it as a waste of time and money. Needs overnight to firm up. Not that I do but some on this site are up at the crack of dawn and get to enjoy the fresh trails for a bit.

I believe Thursday nights used to be a good time in there

I get the 1.75” lug height restriction for trails. Not sure I understand it for lake riding. I could see some of the hybrid riders that do trail and off trail being pretty turned off by this. Or those that use trails to access the back country. 1.75” is still a pretty decent off trail lug height.

Apparently negotiations continue and no resolution for the trail 355 as yet. Stay tuned. i have no clue with Eva? Great location for sure. I know they had tourists from Europe on sleds with guides quite often as well. Wish I could tell you something solid.

I put 5K miles on my 2023 in one year. One of my favorite sleds. Meant to be driven hard with very good off trail and deep snow capabilities.

Careful of the precedence that you set. You may open Pandora’s Box.

Wow, they take their rerouting seriously up there, they even installed a base coat of snow!

Voila

It won’t last but will be pretty to look at

Unless you fill your sled to the brim with cold gas and then put it in a very warm garage! LOL

Thanks for checking. I got logged in fine now. Can send and receive messages, and can post on the forums. Only thing I can't do is click on my name at the top of the page to get into settings or to log out. I never log out and don't really ever get into settings, so I am all set. Will probably go see a computer tech to get my cache cleaned out and should be all set. Mik

Test

Steven, Have you or anyone else ever took NB trail over towards Matapedia and ran the road the few kms to get to bridge to cross over into QC right at the Matapedia village? When we were through there this summer saw a flatbed tow truck at the garage in the village. Have never heard of anyone beeing shuttled here.

Trail is ready!!!!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17RKUi8yiW/

Let it snow!

What’s it gonna be like in 2 weeks Don? 🤣

Ordered Maps from NB, in Sept, they followed up and said $50.00 to send them unless I wait until Strike finished. Just recieved them!! GutZ

I agree with Eastmark 100%. I look forward to meeting my friends from South of the border every winter on the trails and/or at the bars in the evening. Snowmobilers tend to be more concerned with groomers then tariffs! LOL