by Donna Baylis | Jun 1, 2017 | Reference
In 2015, the City of Owen Sound was approached by Dufferin Grey ATV Club (DGATV) and South Bruce Peninsula ATV Club (SBPATV) to request access to the city for food, fuel and accommodation, and to create a road link between the two clubs.
In 2016, the city created a temporary by-law allowing all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and off-road vehicles (ORVs) on certain streets within the city. This makes it possible to cross through the city and ride to the Bruce Peninsula.
Copies of the map and by-law are available at www.owensound.ca.
Note that the CP Rail Trail from Sunny Valley Road northward into Owen Sound is not currently open. Part of the trail goes through the Niagara Escarpment and needs special permission, which is being requested. Additionally, Grey County is developing a Recreational Trails Master Plan and will not consider approving the trail until after the report is made available in the autumn.
In the interim, Owen Sound, Georgian Bluffs and the Township of Chatsworth have by-laws in place detailing where ATVs are permitted on certain roads. Grey County has also passed a by-law that will permit use on certain County roads. These by-laws will allow an ATV rider to access the amenities within Owen Sound while the CP Rail Trail and other property requests are being considered.
Links to the by-laws:
https://www.owensound.ca/en/resourcesGeneral/Documents/2016-087-Off-Road-Vehicles-By-law-CONSOLIDATED.pdf
https://www.georgianbluffs.ca/en/resourcesGeneral/PDFs/ByLaws/By-law_27-2016_ATV_By-law.pdf
http://chatsworth.ca/sites/default/files/files/By-laws/ByLaw%202004-20%20-%20All%20Terrain%20Vehicles.pdf
https://www.grey.ca/by-laws
If you would like to participate in Grey County’s Recreational Trails Master Plan process, please contact Sarah.Johnson@grey.ca.
News Stories:
June 15, 2016 – Owen Sound’s ATV bylaw gets green light
by Donna Baylis | May 29, 2017 | Reference
Welcome to DGATV’s Maintained Trails
While Dufferin Grey ATV Club membership is for riders of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs, 2-Ups, side-by-sides), we do consider ourselves a custodian of the trails for other users as well.
In the summer the public trails are shared by walkers, hikers, runners, mountain bikers, and horseback riders. ATVs are permitted on the trails throughout the ATV season.
We ask our riders to be courteous to other users. For instance, when passing horses, be cognizant of the horseback rider’s wishes. The horseback rider may wave you past, but if not, please pull over, shut off your machine and remove your helmet so as not to spook the horse.
For motorcycles, Ontario Federation of ATV Clubs (OFATV) and Dufferin Grey ATV Club (DGATV) are entirely separate from The Ontario Federation of Trail Riders (OFTR) with separate legal landowner agreements. Check with OFTR to find out which trails you are permitted to ride.
In the winter snowmobiles use much of the same trail (although not identical as they are subject to different landowner agreements). Walkers and cross-country skiers also enjoy the groomed trails.
Dufferin Grey ATV Club spends a significant sum of money from user fees and fundraising on maintaining the trail every year. Funds and Volunteer hours go towards grass mowing; tree trimming; brush and trash cleanup; gravel for filling holes, smoothing slopes and preventing erosion; dust suppression; gate installation and maintenance; bridge building and maintenance.
When the trails are tended for ATV use, all users benefit.
See also:
Trail Users – Mountain Biking
FAQs
by Donna Baylis | May 18, 2017 | Reference
Dufferin Grey ATV Club’s (DGATV) southern trail starts in Orangeville running 110km north to just beyond Chatsworth. The main backbone of the trail is the former CP rail line, known as the CP Trail, which travels through Dufferin County in the south and Grey County in the north. There are many offshoot loops particularly in the north where trails have been longer established.
Orangeville Parking (2019)
The rail trail starts at County Road 16 just above Broadway. You will see signs saying DGATV/OFATV maintained trail. It is unfortunate that DGATV does not have a parking area in Orangeville at this time.
Where Jim Brown Trucking (JBT) had provided us with the use of a corner of their property in the past, circumstances have changed and the property is no longer available. Please respect our arrangement with the company because we appreciated their participation in the past and the future is as yet unwritten. If you know of a land owner/property in the area that may be good for parking, please inform DGATV’s Executive. We’d be happy to come to an arrangement.
A permit is required for all DGATV trails as a member associated with the Ontario Federation of ATV Clubs (OFATV). The rail line is limited to straddled ATVs; no side-by-sides at this time as per land owner (Dufferin County in the south, Grey County in the north) policies.
See also:
Parking
Maps
FAQs
