Revelstoke Snowmobile Club’s new welcome centre opened with ceremony

The Revelstoke Snowmobile Club opened their Revelstoke Snowmobile Welcome Centre on Westside Road with a ceremony and ribbon cutting on April 19.

The welcome centre will serve as a gateway at an entranceway to the popular Boulder Mountain and Frisby Ridge riding areas.

It will be home to the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club’s grooming machines, allowing for indoor maintenance.

From left: Mayor Mark McKee, Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart, Revelstoke Snowmobile Club president Daniel Kellie and CSRD Area B director Loni Parker at the opening April 19. Photo: Lyndsay Esson

Revelstoke Snowmobile Club president Daniel Kellie said the building will serve many purposes for the club. “The new centre will allow our staff and volunteers to give a warm welcome to the many visitors who come to Revelstoke to snowmobile, and provide them with information that will enhance their safety in the snowmobile areas and help protect the environmental values in the backcountry,”

The Centre is located at 4177 Westside Road in Revelstoke.

A media statement from the City of Revelstoke included statements from officials:

The Revelstoke Snowmobile Welcome Centre will provide a great entry point to a large snowmobile area in the community that attracts tens of thousands of tourists every year. The Revelstoke Snowmobile Society has been working for many years on this project, and many hours of volunteer work has been put in to make this Centre a reality. In addition to providing a venue to welcome snowmobile visitors to the community, the centre will also provide facilities for equipment storage for the club.

Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills training and Minister Responsible for Labour stated: “Revelstoke is renowned for snowmobiling which attracts tens of thousands of visitors during the winter. It’s a key tourism attraction supporting the local economy and jobs and we’re pleased to provide $160,000 in funding through the resort Municipality Initiative for the new Revelstoke Snowmobile Welcome Centre. It will enhance visitor’s experience so they keep coming back to this beautiful part of the province”.

The Province is investing $10.5 million through the Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI) program for tourism infrastructure and amenities in 14 resort communities. The RMI program helps resort municipalities to increase the number of visitors and their length of stay, broaden resort activities to expand the length of the tourist season, increase employment, and to diversify the local tax base.

“Snowmobiling is a very important part of our winter tourism economy,” said Mark McKee, Mayor of the City of Revelstoke, “and this new Centre will be a wonderful addition to the infrastructure we have to help promote this activity that provides great benefit to local businesses”.

“This facility is important for so many reasons, including attracting visitors who will contribute to our economy, keeping all users safe and promoting environmental awareness and stewardship,” said Lynda Lafleur, Community Relationship Manager, Columbia Basin Trust. “We are honoured to be a part of this, and we thank all partners for their efforts and contributions, particularly the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club for overseeing this project from idea to completion.”