PRESTON – During a normal winter, the owners of Preston Snowmobile say that trucks and trailers are usually lined up bumper-to-bumper along the road outside their shop in Preston. But for the second year in a row, an unusually low – if not nonexistent – snow count has halted business right along with snowmobile registrations, meaning the road to Preston Snowmobile, along with the miles of trails in Chenango County, has been less traveled to say the least.
“It’s been terrible,” said Evalyn Blood, co-owner of Preston Snowmobile. “I knew we were going to be down this month, but nothing like this.”
According to the National Weather Service in Binghamton, halfway through the official winter season, there has only been 5.3 inches of recorded snowfall, well on pace to beat the record low for December through February which stands at 30.9 inches, occurring back in 1988-1989.
“This time it’s two in a row; it has not been good,” said Blood, who with her husband, has owned the store since 1967. “You can do all you can do. But the only thing you really need is that four-letter word beginning with S – snow.”
According to Robert Perry, the president of the New York State Snowmobile Association, the popular winter recreational activity, and the industry it has created, accounts for $875 million for the state economy annually.
“This all trickles down,” Perry said, citing snowmobile sales, rentals, insurance, overall maintenance, fuel, parts and service, travel expenses, registrations fees, and clothing as far-reaching economic factors related to riding. “The hotels, the restaurants, the parts stores all suffer in the end.”
Homer Smith, owner of The Outpost Restaurant in McDonough, a popular stop on the snowmobile trail, said he knows firsthand the trouble a weak winter can cause for the rural tourism industry.
“Business is way down,” said Smith, who is also the McDonough town supervisor. “It really affects everyone, especially the little businesses in the country.”
Under regular conditions, Smith said he sees between 200 and 300 riders per weekend. Other than the two he had on New Year’s Day, the owner says it’s been pretty quiet at The Outpost.
“I don’t know what we could do, there’s no snow.” Smith said. “You have to expect that you won’t get a good year every year.”
However, Perry says he won’t be surprised if long-standing businesses dependent on snowmobiling begin to close their doors, considering the light winter trend.
“There are probably some dealers reevaluating their business with the low snow fall we have had the past couple years,” Perry said. “Dealers have models sitting around still in crates. I guess you could call it a buyer’s market. Drive anywhere and just about every mile there is a used snowmobile sitting on a lawn for sale.”
Despite the tough climate, the Bloods say they’re going to stick with it.
“Maybe we’ll get some (snow), who knows?” Blood said. “We just have to stay in there.”
The Bloods have also owned and operated a dairy farm since 1956, and are concerned that their crops may be negatively affected without the necessary ground cover snow normally provides.
Smith, however, doesn’t expect this winter to get any better.
“I don’t expect it to come,” he said, who’s owned the restaurant since 1987. “You have to have the base. All you’ll make is mud.”
Perry said that low registration numbers in snowmobile clubs and in general also affect the funding clubs get to maintain the trail systems. He said that if the quality of the pathways suffer, it could affect the future number of riders who return to an area. “If we find out that a trail system is tough to ride – do we return?” Perry asked.