The Simcoe County Museum’s newest attraction was a hit this winter, but it was also at the mercy of Mother Nature.
The outdoor skating trail at the Midhurst facility, north of Barrie, was open from Jan. 2 until Feb. 19. During its 27 days of operation, almost 2,400 users took a twirl with an average of 87 people per day.
However, the nearly one-kilometre trail was closed for 15 days due to poor ice conditions caused by warm weather.
“We had a great start with really cold temperatures, but then we had that really bad January thaw and again around the Family Day weekend, so that unfortunately affected things a little bit,” museum curator Kelley Swift Jones told Village Media.
“But even despite the poor weather, our trail held up fairly well,” she added. “We made it last as long as we could and we still had pretty good numbers for being significantly less days than we thought it’d be.”
The Family Day weekend saw the highest use, with 220 skaters on Saturday, 419 on Sunday and 220 on Family Day before weather forced the trail to be shut down around noon.
“The trail was really well received and we had a lot of new visitors who hadn’t been to the museum before,” Swift Jones said.
It cost $10 per person to use the skating trail, resulting in revenue close to $18,000. The fee included museum admission and access to the snowshoe trail.
According to a staff report, some feedback indicated the cost was too high for families and there was disappointment there were not family or member rates, nor monthly or season passes to use the trail. However, the report also indicated the ticket price was not a deterrent on Family Day weekend, for example.
Swift Jones said there could be the option of discounted member rates, although that conversation has yet to take place with the county’s elected officials.
“Now that we have more information and feedback, we’ll be looking at everything, including the cost structure and member rates,” she said. “But again, it will be council’s decision as to what direction we take.”
On the positive side, users said the ice conditions were “excellent and the quality of the ice was much better than anticipated,” according to the report.
The museum used outside funding to cover some of the operation costs, including $50,000 from the Cumba Charitable Foundation, about half of which was used to purchase a Zamboni and provide a large water connection. The remaining $20,000 will be spent on future upgrades. Additional costs include museum staff to monitor the trail and its users.
Museum officials hope to continue the skating trail next winter, with some possible improvements, but that decision is up to county council. Swift Jones will bring a full report to county council in the next couple of months.
The plan for next winter could include extending the trail from .85 kilometres to around 1.2 kms.
“We learned a lot of lessons and we’re altering where the trail is going next year, to try and put it in a more shaded area,” Swift Jones said. “Obviously, a shaded area will make the trail last a lot longer.”
The idea for the trail arose from a marketing plan which pointed out the facility’s unique location, sitting on 327 acres of the Museum Tract of the Simcoe County Forest.
“That’s a real asset,” Swift Jones said. “The idea is there are people who use our facilities beyond the main museum, the galleries and the heritage buildings.
“They also use the trails out back,” she added, “so there’s a real interest and desire from staff and visitors to really start looking at how to use the outdoor facilities and the grounds in a different way.”
