Welcome to

TORBAY COTTAGES

North Bay, Ontario

Lake Nipissing

...your winter wonderland

  Questions? Just call or email ... quick response can be expected  ;-)   contact info top and bottom of this page 

Whether you are interested in snowmobiling,
cross country or alpine skiing, ice fishing,
business or a romantic getaway

 

Snowmobiling is certainly the most popular event at Torbay, partly because our cottages offer an ideal accommodation solution for couples or groups, and also because of our convenient 'in the city' location and our setting right on the shore of Lake Nipissing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are situated with direct access to TOP trails from the OFSC feeder (NB309 and SS703) at our front door. You may wish to consider us for your RAN (Ride around Nipissing) or RAP ('Round Algonquin Park) tours, but we find most guests come for two to seven days and take day trips.

 

Check our local snowmobile club websites for Near North Trail Conditions.

 

 

 

 

When all is said and done, sit by the fireplace, call for a pizza of your choice or walk across the street for both casual and elegant dining or visit one of several bars that are only a 5 or 10 minute walk away.

 

 

It is said that part of snowmobiling is fixing the darn things, and while it is not our favourite part of snowmobiling, heated garage/workshop space is available upon request should you require warm space to work on your sled.

 

 

 

 

Buy Where You Ride Visit the local club websites (linked above) to obtain lists of locations where permits are sold

2011 - 2012 OFSC Trail Permit Prices (CAD including Taxes) Season Price = $250 Before December 1st = $200 7 Day Temporary Permit (7 consecutive days) = $140.00 3Day Permit $100.00 There are no one day passes this year. Check this page for detailed permit info All prices include taxes OFSC Trail Permit IS REQUIRED POLICE FINE FOR NO PERMIT IS $200 TO $1000!!! and does not include a permit  Police WILL NOT sell permits Buy Where You Ride Visit the local club websites (linked above) to obtain lists of locations where permits are sold

   We ask you to please 'buy where you ride' because much of the money is retained locally for Trail grooming and maintenance.   Remember that it is an army of volunteers who create and maintain all of these great trails.  Both our  local club and the OFSC are non-profit organizations with a mandate to put most of your permit money to work on the trails you ride.

Because this permit money goes first and foremost to the selling club, it is in your own best interest to ensure that you buy from the local club whose trails you ride the most. Ontario snowmobile clubs pay for creation, maintenance and grooming of trails by selling OFSC trail permits. Buy Where You Ride is a basic principle of the OFSC user pay system that says:  invest your permit money on the trails you use the most.
It's only fair to the club and you'll feel the difference too!

 

RAP Tour    (Ride Around Algonquin)

This 600 Km tour of TOP trail around the outside of Algonquin Park. Most will take about 4 days and three nights, however, it can easily take longer if you break down or get lost or run out of snow.  Keep your maps in order and together. You will need four maps to do the RAP tour. Starting at the bottom of Algonquin Park, you will need the Muskoka Snowmobile Region map, available from the MSR at 1-800-328-7242. This map covers from Kearney to Haliburton. The second map you will need is from the Haliburton County Snowmobile Association at 705-457-4263. The Ottawa Valley Tourist Association prints a map which covers from Barry's Bay to Mattawa at the top of the park. The OVTA map is available at 1-800-757-6580. The OVTA also has a great map of the RAP tour on their website. Click HERE to get to the map. Finally, the Near North Snowmobile region covers trails from Mattawa to Kearney and is available from the office of the NNTA at 1.800.387.0516. Link here for the trail map.  A good map for the Muskoka area is from the Muskoka Snowmobile Region web site. This is in PDF format  HERE.
 

RAN Tour  (Ride Around Nipissing)

The RAN is definitely a shorter ride (perhaps 400km pending route taken), ride in 2 or 3 days, but can be longer depending on the chosen trails. The entire route is covered by the Near North map. Generally there are no snow  issues for the RAN tour although the area around North Bay can be sparse in the shoulder season. There are also some staked trails across the West Arm of Lake Nipissing which can shorten time for sledders in a hurry, however best to check ahead to see what conditions are like. The RAN tour is mostly accomplished using an all land route with one of the highlights the neat bridge across the French River at Hwy 69. We used to partner with several  accommodation providers on the RAN route, however this became too unpredictable and unreliable for us to continue with recommendations.

 Ice Fishing 

 

 

 

 

Park your rig or sled right at your door at Torbay!

 

Ice fishing is a huge 'sport' on Lake Nipissing, and we have guests from the northern states and southern Ontario who bring their own collapsible huts and others who charter through our associates ...

 

 

Grump & Grumpy's  Ice Fishing Adventures

Only Ten minutes from the heart of North Bay on beautiful Lake Nipissing!
Modern on ice 4 and 6 person overnight ice fishing bungalows. Day huts available.
Great fishing for whitefish, walleye, perch, herring and northern pike.
Access to OFSC trails is outside your hut door.

Give Carl or Randy a call to get the details ...
... they will do well by you.    495-0941 or 495-3106

Below is a comment from their website:

JANUARY 30TH,2012 HELLO EVERYONE!! FISHING HAS BEEN HOT ALL SEASON SO FAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IN THE FIRST THIRTY DAYS OF THE ICE FISHING SEASON,WE HAVE SEEN MORE WALLEYES THEN IN THE SEVEN YEARS COMBINED IN OUR OPERATION. WALLEYE SIZES VARY IN SIZES BUT,THE MAJORITY ARE UNDER THE 40 CENTIMETER SLOT ALLOCATION. IN FACT WE ARE NOT CATCHING LARGE NUMBERS OF WALLEYE BETWEEN THE 40 - 60 CENTIMETER RELEASE REGULATIONS. THERE APPEARS TO BE TWO MAYBE THREE YOUNG AGE CLASSES. PERCH APPEAR TO BE LARGER THIS YEAR AS LONG AS YOU DON'T HOOK A WALLEYE FIRST. WHITEFISH, HERRING ARE MIXED IN WITH THE ANGLER'S CATCHES. LING CATCHES SEEM TO BE UP AND IT IS QUITE COMICAL TO WATCH OUR GUEST'S LINES BECOME A TANGLED MESS AT NIGHT WHEN THE LING MOVE IN. WE ARE FINALLY DRIVING OUT TO OUR HUTS. THE EVER CHANGING CONDITIONS HAVE GIVEN US THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMUTE BY VEHICLE INSTEAD OF USING THE "MAGIC BUS" WE HAVE BEEN VISITED BY THE MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES A NUMBER OF TIMES THIS SEASON. THE CREEL CREW COLLECTED INFORMATION ON OUR ANGLER'S CATCHES WHILE THE LOCAL GAMIES (CONSERVATION OFFICERS) CHECKED ANGLERS TO ENSURE THEY ABIDE BY THE RULES. PLEASE ENSURE YOU ARE AWARE OF POSSESSION LIMITS AND THAT YOUR LICENSE IS UP TO DATE. ANGLING LICENSES ARE ANNUAL AND EXPIRE ON THE 31ST OF DECEMBER OF EACH YEAR. WE STILL HAVE SOME AVAILABILITY! GIVE US A TRY!! CARL & RANDY

 

Torbay does not supply ice fishing huts
however we are happy to connect you with the right people.

Alpine skiing is offered right within the city of North Bay - Jack Pine Hill, which also offers night skiing, snow boarding, tubing etc, is also being developed further with a lookout tower and other facilities for 2002.

 Mt. Antoine in Mattawa is 45 minutes away and usually has great conditions late into the spring due to its north facing slopes. Challenging runs are available for all talents...please check our links page for more info. 

North Bay also offers some of the finest trails for Cross Country and Alpine skiing.
There are several great trails for Cross Country. The Nordic Trails and Wasi Trail systems are both groomed and scenic and only a 10 minute drive from Torbay.
Same goes for the trails at Canadore College/Nipissing University. 

 

Yes we do get snow! Average of 270cm (105?inches) per year, sometimes more, sometimes less,
and since we are not in the snowbelt we get lots of sunshine throughout the winter months...

To experience the Greatest Snow On Earth,
 for your free map of the entire Near North Trail System call or e-mail our Travel Association at:
 1-800-387-0516 or info@ontariosnearnorth.on.ca
Please let them know that you found them here on the Torbay WebSite - Thanks - Steve

 

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