Club History

The Hill & Gully Riders were first incorporated in 1972 when a group of early snowmobile enthusiasts decided to work together and develop a genuine network of groomed and marked snowmobile trails. With the local landscape in mind, they took their name from the title of an old Country and Western song, set up shop at Long Lake Lodge, a popular watering hole north of Mayo, Québec, and from there, groomed  trails towards Thurso, Buckingham and Schryer Lake using Alpines and Valmonts.

Outgrowing "The Lodge", club members erected a clubhouse on the lakeside property they purchased at 149 Inlet Road, and they expanded this facility over the years. The clubhouse  came in handy when hosting the annual Steer Roast, which grew from a cottage gathering of about thirty people in 1974 to a 700 person feast of roast beef by 1999. The facility is now used for club get-togethers and community events.

In 1987, circumstances forced several neighbouring clubs to cease operations so the Hill and Gully Riders welcomed those clubs' members into the fold, and assumed their trail grooming duties. Increased membership allowed us to purchase larger grooming equipment, including a BR100 in 1987, a Gilbert-John Deere in 1995 and another Gilbert-Valmont in 2002.

We currently groom 155 km of trails in a radius stretching from Blanche Lake outwards to Thurso, La Salette and the Montpelier/Duhamel region. On weekends, we operate "The Clubhouse", just north of Blanche Lake, as a popular licenced pitstop where we provide light meals, gas and free parking.