New trails in Maine and Newfoundland

ATV riders in the Northeast will have more to explore in the near future as new trails are being developed near Millinocket, Maine and north of the border in Newfoundland, Canada.

In a bid to attract more ATV riders and the tourism dollars they bring, town officials in Millinocket have completed part one of a two-phase project – a 13-mile trail just outside of town. The rest of the project is slated to be completed by summer of 2012.

“It will help with your motels and hotels…your restaurants, your convenience stores and some of your merchants in the area,” Town Manager Gene Conlogue told WCSH 6. “So we think that there is a potential that ATVs could give anywhere from two to three times the volume of visitors dollars in this area as simply snowmobiles provide today.”

Up in southern Newfoundland, the first phase of what is being called a “Supertrail” has been completed that will connect the Burin Peninsula to the Newfoundland trailway.

The new trail runs about 37 miles and connects trails in Boat Harbour to Garnish. The entire trail system is expected to take about five years to complete. Once it’s finished it will loop around the entire peninsula. Completing the entire trail system would take a rider about a week to do and organizers are confident it will bring tourism dollars to the area.

“We’ve got scenery people would pay to see,” Trail organizer Elroy Grandy told CBC.ca.