Museum skate trail expects record attendance
The Simcoe County Museum has a fun way to get out and enjoy the winter weather. Museum staffer Forrest Patenaude says a skate trail through the museum grounds takes skaters past heritage buildings and into the woods, past a red pine plantation.
“The trail is just under one kilometre and it’s very pretty,” she said. “We constantly get positive feedback about the ice conditions. The guys who look after it are amazing.”
The skate trail is now in its eighth year and Patenaude says usage has slowly grown over that time.
“In the first year we had roughly 2,500 users,” she said. “In a good winter, we’ve been seeing up to 5,000 and this year we expect to break attendance records.”
Family Day weekend is normally a very busy time for the skate trail. In 2023 there were 1,500 visitors. Last year, the weekend was quite warm and the number dipped to about 700.
“This year,” said Patenaude, “we were closed. We couldn’t get the snow off the ice fast enough and road conditions were not great.”
The skate trail officially opened for the season on Jan. 13 and will remain open as long as conditions permit.
“We go until Mother Nature says stop,” said Patenaude.
In recent years the trail closed shortly after Family Day weekend, but Patenaude is hopeful it may remain open through March Break this year. She said the make-up of the crowd varies based on time and day.
“We’re open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with lanterns to light the trail. Those are definitely date nights,” she said. “Fridays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., we tend to see a lot of seniors who want to enjoy the trail at a more leisurely pace.Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., it’s mostly families.”
Tickets are available same-day at museum.simcoe.ca or at the museum group entrance. Tickets cost $10 for adults 25 and up, $8 for youth up to 24 and $3 for pre-schoolers. Museum members save $2 per ticket. Admission includes access to indoor warming stations and changing areas. The Simcoe County Museum is located on Highway 26 in Midhurst. The main building is closed for renovations until late spring.
