A Guiding Life
Tales from a Quebec Trail Guide
BY BRUCE CODY
People often ask,“ How does a guy from western New York end up starting a snowmobile guiding business in French-speaking Quebec?” It all begins with the love of snowmobiling, the amazing trails in Quebec and the Quebec snowmobile culture.
I spent 10 years riding all regions of Quebec, getting to know the trails, and building relationships with people everywhere I went. The lodge owners, restaurants, repair shops and snowmobile dealers all became a vital part of my life. At the same time, I learned to read people and see when other people riding in Quebec may need my expertise.
I determined that these people would be much happier on their trip if they knew what I did. Planning the perfect trips for people became my goal, and my business was born.
I’ m now a certified off-road vehicle( ORV) guide in the province of Quebec. While I get to spend winters doing something I love, being a certified guide is not like riding with my buddies. I now have another level of responsibility to assess trails, riding conditions and my group abilities and then make critical decisions for the group’ s safety.
Types of Trips
There are three basic types of guided trips: home-based, saddlebag and backcountry. I primarily do home-based and saddlebag tours.
I do not do backcountry trips. They are the most dangerous and physically demanding type. It involves a lot of digging out sleds throughout a day when going off trail. These trips are for the most experienced riders. A certified guide is only permitted to have three riders per guide on these rides.
Home-based rides typically stay at one place and do 50- to 150-mile day trips, depending on the group’ s experience level. These are very popular for tourists coming to Quebec.
There are companies and lodges that provide this service. Many of these tourists have never been on or even seen a snowmobile before, so there’ s always a learning curve and a greater potential for minor accidents and brake / throttle mixups. They generally ride at slower speeds with a guide in front of the group.
In my own business, I only guide experienced snowmobilers. Our home-based trips are great for couples and for people who may not want to ride every day. We always have Ladies Day midweek and provide a massage for the women. On numerous occasions, the ladies have said they’ d rather go out and ride.
40 / FEBRUARY 2026 / SNOWGOER. COM