PORTAGE, Maine — This time of year, the 16 rooms and two cabins at Dean’s Motor Lodge in Portage are typically filled with guests eager to ride Aroostook County’s 2,300 miles of snowmobile trails.
But this week, owner Dawn Bernier does not have a single guest.
Snowmobiling is one of Maine’s largest industries, bringing in an estimated $606 million a year to the state’s economy. The County’s remoteness and massive trail system has made the region the most popular destination for riders in northern New England and creates the majority of annual business for local hotels and restaurants.
After an already late start to winter, Aroostook’s snowmobile season appears to be over. Unseasonably warm temperatures and rain melted snow from the trails, making it impossible for groomers to maintain them. Hotels and lodges are seeing most of their anticipated guests cancel and restaurants have seen dwindling numbers of sledders.
Now, many business owners are wondering if they will survive.
“This is not a case of a bad season vs. a good season. This is devastating. My hotel and restaurant are empty,” Bernier said. “We only had five decent weeks when we normally have three months.”
Bernier’s lodge employs 20 people in the winter, many of whom she fears laying off due to the lack of revenue. After hearing similar stories from other business owners, Bernier decided to take action.
On Wednesday, Bernier sent a letter to Gov. Janet Mills, requesting that Mills meet with Maine business owners to discuss possible relief efforts to businesses devastated by this winter’s snowmobile season.
“The governor recognizes and is concerned about the significant hardship that warmer weather and lack of snow has had on businesses in The County and across the state,” said Ben Goodman, a spokesperson for Mills. “Her administration plans to contact [Dawn Bernier] to discuss her letter and the broader situation further.”
On her new Facebook group, Maine Business Owners, Bernier and others have discussed ways the state could assist businesses amidst their financial losses, such as grants or employee retention programs.
“I’m not trying to make this a political issue. All I’m trying to do is stay open and keep my employees here,” Bernier said.
In Caribou, Rae Rossignol, co-owner of Bechard’s Grille, is facing the same crisis.
Rossignol took over Bechard’s with her husband John last summer, in hopes of keeping the popular restaurant in the family. Bechard’s is just across the street from a major trail thruway, which used to bring in 25 to 30 snowmobile riders every day.
But in the last three weeks, Rossignol has only seen a total of 20 to 30 riders come through the doors.
“The people who came two or three weeks ago still loved riding up here, but the trails were starting to be a letdown,” Rossignol said Thursday. “They said some places were good, but one mile of the trail was all dirt and mud.”
Making matters worse, this week’s warm-up and muddy speedway conditions led to Caribou’s SnowBowl relocating to Aroostook Centre Mall in Presque Isle. Last year Rossignol saw huge crowds from that event and was hoping for a repeat year. She thinks the organizers should consider moving the event up to mid or late January.
Rossignol would also be in favor of the state financially assisting business owners after the dismal season. She, too, might have to lay off part of her 10-person crew, which consists of full- and part-time cooks, servers and a restaurant manager.
“If business doesn’t pick up within the next month or so, we’ll have no choice but to consider that,” Rossignol said. “This week has been horrible, and I have a feeling the weekend will be disappointing.”
If shorter winters become the norm for The County, businesses and the region overall might need to target snowmobile tourists more strategically, said Jacob Pelkey, tourism developer for Aroostook County Tourism at Northern Maine Development Commission.
Though Aroostook also sees many winter tourists who ski, ice fish, hike or attend winter events, snowmobiling is a far more expensive hobby and often attracts the most committed riders, Pelkey noted.
“Snowmobilers are willing to drive greater distances, and that’s why we see people from Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New York,” Pelkey said. “They usually stay for a week, while someone going to an event might stay a few days. Snowmobilers are willing to spend more money. They’ll eat at the restaurants for the seven days they’re here.”
Less snow pushed back snowmobile season to mid January the last few winters, instead of December, so many riders who planned trips months before rescheduled to February. But this year, most riders who learned of weather forecasts for February opted to cancel rather than reschedule, Pelkey said.
Given the changing winter climate of Aroostook, business owners might want to market to snowmobilers who love the region regardless of weather and trail conditions, said Tim McCabe, co-owner of The Bunker Inn in Limestone, not far from an entry into the town’s 35 miles of snowmobile trails.
McCabe saw most of his anticipated guests cancel this week, but several repeat snowmobile groups decided to still visit.
“We had a group of Bowdoinham who said, ‘We don’t care, we’ll go bowling instead.’ Another group from Winslow aren’t bringing their sleds and several couples have decided to come anyway,” McCabe said. “This is their getaway. People will use their vacations in January so they can come here.”
