On Friday, the long-awaited snowmobile trail between Snow Lake and Cranberry Portage was officially opened.

The Snow Lake Sno-Drifters Snowmobile Club hosted the grand opening event which was kicked off with a morning ride starting in Snow Lake and ending in Cranberry Portage.

Riders from The Pas and Flin Flon joined them before making the return trip to Snow Lake for a celebration dinner.

The trail creates a vital link between northern and southern Manitoba’s trail systems and extending connections in Saskatchewan, Ontario and the United States.

The milestone was achieved after years of effort by SledMB53, a project to develop and promote snowmobile tourism in Northern Manitoba, along with involvement from local snowmobile clubs.