The long-awaited "merger" of OFATV and EOTA, Ontario's two largest ATV umbrella organizations, was officially implemented April 25, 2008. That means that members of any of those 21 (and growing) local ATV Clubs can legally ride their ATVs on the trails of any of the other member Clubs. This is clearly a giant step toward "one province - one trailpass" ATVing in Ontario.

During the past 4 or 5 years, the OFATV has been responsible for some extremely important developments on behalf of all ATVers in the province of Ontario. One of the first and certainly most significant developments was the acquisition of reasonably priced trail insurance for affiliated local Clubs, Also, the OFATV was part of the government committee that drafted Bill 11/316, the legislation which made the necessary amendments to the Off-Road Vehicle Act to finally recognize an ATV as a "vehicle." Without this legislation, the sport would still be languishing in obscurity in Ontario.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance has been building trail partnerships since 1998 and brings a decades worth of infrastructure growth and experience to the table. This new partnership will be managed by a committee of the Ontario Trails Council consisting of representatives from OFATV, EOTA, OFSC and OTC.The trails will be called the Trillium Trails "GOLD" Network, which will combine the resources, not only of the ATV community, but also of the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs.

Meanwhile, the Haliburton County ATV Association (HATVA) is remaining "regional" for the time being, which means that OTC member ATVers using the Haliburton Railtrail between Lindsay and Haliburton must buy a daypass from either the Kawartha or the Haliburton club. Although a trail permit is required to ride the Railtrail, the trails in Highlands East are Crown land and do not require a local trail permit. Many tourism businesses around the hugely popular 5 Points Trails, the Goat Trail, the IB&O; Railtrail, the Bark Lake Beach Trail, Green's Mountain, and the Hillbilly Trail, including Bobcaygeon, Fenelon Falls, Kinmount, Gooderham, Wilberforce area, as well as all along the railtrail are offering discounts to ATVers with EOTA or OFATV trailpasses.

Many of these trails are described, and mapped (including GPS co-ordinates) on the TRAILS page of this website.