Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! Ride Safe and Stay on the Trail!
RIDE PA!
Pennsylvanians love snow! (In case you didn’t know)
Welcome to Pennsylvania’s 5500 miles of snowmobile trails. PA has a mix of scenic trails on State, Federal, Game Commission and Private Land. All are open to snowmobilers who have a current registration sticker displayed on the sled and insurance. The PA registration fee remains at $10. There are no trail permits. Currently the Pennsylvania State Snowmobile Association (PSSA) is working with local legislative representatives to research ways to increase this fee.
PSSA welcomes over 32,000 potential riders every year. As you can imagine the economic significance is over $132,000,000. Snowmobile recreation is the life-blood of small towns and rural areas in the winter.
A great way to experience the varied scenery of PA is by snowmobile.
Check out our website: www.pasnow.org under the “Directories” tab you will find a map of the entire state, click on an area and information concerning the area with contacts will appear. It is advisable to contact the club where you are going to ride.
Great riding opportunities can be found throughout the State. Several great places to ride are: in the North East – Northeast trail system; Central – Potter County;
NorthWest –The Allegheny National Forest (ANF); and the West- Erie County. Continue to the South – east of Pittsburgh is the Laurel Highlands trail system and to the South Central – Glendale Lake. The center of the State contains the PA Wild’s area. All are worth the trip to ride.
Recently the PSSA Board upgraded the “Keystone Snowmobiler” magazine to digital format. This format allows PSSA to reach many more people. It is always on our website. Check it out.
Our snowmobile clubs are the backbone of the snowmobile trail system. Club volunteers maintain and groom over 2000 miles of trails. Many of these are on private land open to the public. Help support the clubs where you choose to ride.
Recently PSSA contracted with “Video Mike” to produce videos of several riding areas in the state. You can find them on:
1. MarienvillePA
2. CameronPA
3. McKean County
4. SomersetPA
They will also be reposted on SnowTrailsTelevision FB page.
We are currently looking for sponsors to promote videos for the PA Wild’s and Erie County areas.
PSSA also has a Children’s Medical Emergency Fund. Children under 18 years of age are eligible for a grant from this Fund. Grants can be used for expenses for travel to doctor appointments, medicine etc.
PSSA recently held its annual Powersport Show in Lebanon, PA. This is a major fundraiser for the Association. Volunteers came from Ohio, Maryland and PA. Funds realized are used to help improve the snowmobile experience in Pennsylvania.
PSSA in cooperation with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources provides “mini-grants” to qualified clubs to help with trail maintenance and grooming expenses. The total amount contributed in the last 7 years is over $550,000. There are over 50,000 volunteers hours associated with these grants and work not covered by grants.
A sign of good health is new growth – we recently added a new club to our snowmobile family. This club was formed in an underserved area of Bradford, PA. The club will help with grooming the northern section of the 330 mile ANF snowmobile trail system from the NY line to Westline in PA. A connector trail is also being planned with the cooperation of the Bradford water authority.
PSSA is always seeking new members, advertisers and donations.
We are a member of the American Council of Snowmobile Associations, United Snowmobile Alliance and the Blue Ribbon Coalition.
JOIN NOW IF YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER: www.pasnow.org
Liz Krug, President
