Opening Up Ski Trails to Dogs Would Boost Seeley Lake Economy

SEELEY LAKE - I know this will likely fall on deaf ears but we love coming over to Seeley Lake and do so a lot in the summer.  We live in Great Falls and would love to come over and ski your Nordic trails but prohibiting dogs means we end up driving over to Lubrecht Experimental Forest and ski there.  We end up eating/gassing up in Lincoln every time.  I think Seeley Lake would see an influx of overnight stays, and dollars if you opened your trails up to dogs.

We are a family of four and would come multiple times per winter, likely including overnight stays.  I use the dog to help pull me in a skijoring setup.  We have two kids and one isn’t old enough to ski so we put her in a ski pulk [sled towed with harness and rigid poles].  Sometimes, I have to pull both kids when our older one wears out and the dog becomes a necessity. 

Ironically, one of my favorite providers of skijoring equipment is a company in Seeley Lake so there is some vested interest.  Skiing with two small kids and a dog, I am completely uninterested in trails that allow snowmobiles.

Even if you only allowed dogs one weekend a month, I think you would attract interest.

Just a thought!

 
 

Reader Comments(1)

moondance writes:

I agree with John. Seeley Lake is by and large dog-friendly, so it surprised me we have a rule against dogs on trails. I can see no valid rationale for such a rule. I suspect some overzealous bureaucratically minded person came up with this rule and made it stick, and that's just sad. No one is reporting major problems where dogs are allowed on trails. And as John pointed out, some Seeley Lake Merchants are losing revenue because of it.

 
 
 
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