Is the Soo the outdoor adventure capital of Ontario?

The Salty Marie Trails Fest is a trail-based festival launched in 2023 in Sault Ste. Marie, a small and isolated city in Northern Ontario. From its inception, the event has “punched way above [its] weight” in leveraging the area’s expanding trail network and tight-knit community vibe. The festival’s name is a tongue-in-cheek nod to those who mispronounce “Sault Ste. Marie” as “Salt Ste. Marie,” and the event indeed celebrates “all things ‘trail’” with a fun, welcoming atmosphere. While initially conceived as a mountain bike race weekend, it quickly evolved into a broader trails festival featuring multiple bike races, a trail running race, kids’ events, live entertainment, and an expo of local vendors. The Salty Marie Trails Fest was born out of local demand for an annual trail gathering, and organizers took cues from the community to ensure it was more than just another race – inclusive, family-friendly, and festive.

Growth Over Three Years

The inaugural event in summer 2023 drew a strong response, with 495 total attendees in year one. By the second edition in 2024, the festival had significantly increased registration, attracting 602 attendees . According to the festival director, “years one and two got a lot of buzz — over 600 participants total and a ton of folks from out of town”, confirming that even in its early days the Salty Marie was exceeding expectations. Initially a one-day event, it sold out each year and successfully built an inclusive “fun-fueled” reputation . For example, in 2024 the festival offered three mountain bike race distances (10 km, 25 km, 50 km) plus a 10 km trail run, catering to everyone from kids and novice riders to hardcore racers. The City’s investment in trails (over $1.5 million on new world-class MTB trails and amenities in recent years) provided a perfect backdrop for the Fest’s growth.

By 2024, Sault Ste. Marie was being recognized as a burgeoning “mecca” for mountain biking in Ontario, with Salty Marie Trails Fest adding to its allure .

By this year, the Salty Marie Trails Fest was poised to “level up once again” . Organizers expanded the program into a full weekend (July 25–27, 2025), introducing new events and activities. This epic race traverses a huge swath of the Algoma backcountry (Red Rock, Goulais River, Bellevue Valley, Stokely Creek, etc.) before finishing through the Hiawatha singletrack trails. The addition of the 200 km ultra – a first-of-its-kind distance for the event – reflects the organizers’ ambition to showcase the region’s rugged terrain and to draw a new demographic of participants. The 2025 weekend schedule was structured as follows: Friday for racer packet pick-up and the ultra race kickoff, Saturday as the main day of races (multiple MTB race distances plus trail run) alongside festival entertainment, and Sunday reserved for casual group rides and community activities as a relaxed finale . In essence, the festival has grown from a single-day race into a three-day summer celebration of trails.

Crucially, the event’s scope and attendance have expanded in tandem with its programming. Organizers aimed for 350+ race participants in 2025, up from roughly 250 the previous year, and placed greater emphasis on drawing visitors from outside the local area. “We’re growing the number of races, bringing back vendors, introducing different food options and music, and really building out that festival atmosphere,” explained Graham Atkinson of Red Pine Tours, the event organizer.

Economic Impact on the Local Community

One of the most significant aspects of the Salty Marie Trails Fest is its economic impact on the small host community. Sault Ste. Marie is relatively remote from major urban centers, so attracting visitors has tangible economic benefits in terms of tourism spending on lodging, food, and services. The festival’s growth has been accompanied by a marked rise in out-of-town attendance, directly translating into overnight stays and revenue for local businesses. In the first year (2023), 30 of the 495 attendees were visitors from outside the area. By 2024, the number of non-local visitors jumped to 154 out-of-town attendees out of 602 total – a five-fold increase in tourist participation. This trend demonstrates the festival’s expanding draw beyond the local community. City tourism officials noted that the Salty Marie Fest “has significantly increased their registration from 2023”, with especially notable growth in engagement from the U.S. market by the second year . American riders from Michigan, Wisconsin, and even as far as Kansas City traveled to Sault Ste. Marie for the 2024 event , highlighting the region’s emergence as a trail tourism destination.

This influx of visitors produces a measurable economic boost. For 2025, event organizers projected about 165 out-of-town participants/visitors, and estimated that those travellers would spend on the order of $57,750 in the local economy over the weekend (assuming an average of 2 days stay and $175/day on accommodations, food, etc.). Such spending directly benefits hotels, campgrounds, restaurants, and retailers in the Sault Ste. Marie area. Local campgrounds, for example, actively market to Salty Marie attendees – the Sault KOA Holiday campground promotes the festival as a must-see summer event to fill its sites. The timing of the festival at the end of July – peak summer season – further maximizes tourist spending and helps extend the peak for local tourism-dependent businesses.

Beyond these direct expenditures, the festival contributes to raising the profile of Sault Ste. Marie as an outdoor recreation hub, which can have longer-term economic benefits. The city’s tourism board explicitly views Salty Marie Trails Fest as “a flagship event” that aligns with its strategy to market Sault Ste. Marie as “the premiere outdoor adventure capital in Ontario”.

It’s also worth noting that the festival was conceived in part as an economic stimulus. In early planning stages, organizers and supporters positioned it as a way to capitalize on the burgeoning trail network and fill hotel rooms with a signature event. The Tourism Sault Ste. Marie board has backed the Trails Fest financially through its Tourism Development Fund grants each year. Grants of $3,500 in 2023 and $5,000 in 2024 were provided to support event marketing, and a further $10,000 was approved for 2025 as the festival grew in scale . These contributions reflect confidence in the event’s tourism return: “In recognition of the positive impact the 2024 Salty Marie Trails Festival will have on the local tourism industry,” the board recommended ongoing funding . City tourism staff have quantified that the Salty Marie Trails Fest “contributes directly to community vitality, economic development, and destination marketing”, making it a valuable asset for the region . An economic impact study conducted for analogous trail events elsewhere (e.g. the Leadville Trail 100 in Colorado) found that such races can inject on the order of $15 million annually into their host town’s economy – a figure that, while on a much larger scale than Salty Marie today, underscores the potential long-term value of growing an iconic trail festival. In short, the Salty Marie Trails Fest has already proven to be economically beneficial to Sault Ste. Marie, bringing in new tourism dollars and helping diversify the local economy through outdoor recreation. That impact is expected to increase as the event continues to expand its attendance and reach.

Sponsor Involvement and Strategic Partnerships

The rapid success of the Salty Marie Trails Fest has been enabled by strong support from sponsors and strategic partners, ranging from municipal bodies to local businesses. In particular, Tourism Sault Ste. Marie has played a pivotal sponsorship role since the festival’s inception. Through the Tourism Development Fund, the city’s tourism board has provided financial backing each year (as noted, $3.5k in 2023, $5k in 2024, and $10k for 2025) to assist with marketing, audiovisual equipment, entertainment, and other event costs. This monetary support is significant for a grassroots event in a smaller city, effectively underwriting promotional efforts to draw racers from afar. The tourism board sees this as an investment with high returns in visitor spending and is effectively a public-sector sponsor of the festival. In addition to direct funding, Tourism SSM contributes in-kind promotion – for example, the festival is featured prominently on official tourism websites and travel guides. The local government’s endorsement via these channels lends credibility and visibility, attracting more sponsors and participants. It’s telling that festival organizers publicly thank “Tourism Sault Ste. Marie” as one of the “incredible partners… the champions behind the trails” that make the event possible .

Beyond tourism authorities, the Salty Marie Trails Fest has attracted a slate of local corporate sponsors and community partners. The event’s website and social media highlight logos of supporting companies, which in past years have included a Re/Max real estate office (Mogg Realty), Northern Insurance Brokers, Kinect Physiotherapy, and other regional businesses. These sponsors typically provide monetary sponsorships, prizes, or services in kind. For instance, a local insurance firm’s sponsorship not only offers financial support but also underscores the community’s business sector buying into the festival’s mission.

Another critical partnership is with the Sault Cycling Club and related trail organizations. The Cycling Club serves as the hub for local riders and trail maintenance, and it actively collaborates on events. The Salty Marie festival courses are hosted at Hiawatha Highlands, a trail system co-maintained by volunteer groups like the Sault Cycling Club and the Kinsmen Club. In fact, Red Pine Tours (the festival organizer) and the Cycling Club have overlapping leadership in the community. The Kinsmen Club of Sault Ste. Marie – a service organization – is another partner, providing the venue facilities at Hiawatha and likely volunteering in logistics (the trails are on Kinsmen-leased land). These community organizations are beneficiaries of the event as well (more on that in the next section), making their support a virtuous cycle of mutual benefit.

It’s also notable that strategic regional partnerships have formed around the festival’s growth. For example, Algoma Country (the regional tourism marketing organization for that part of Ontario) lists Salty Marie Trails Fest in its events and works to attract visitors, effectively acting as a promotional sponsor. Additionally, funding from broader initiatives – such as federal or provincial trail development grants – indirectly sponsors the event by improving the trail product it showcases. The festival has been timed to capitalize on new trail projects (e.g. a new “Pigpen” trail bypass was built just before the 2023 race with funding from Tourism SSM and work by Holocene Trail Company ). This kind of coordination shows a strategic partnership between event organizers and those investing in infrastructure: the race demonstrates the value of trail infrastructure, and in turn the existence of great trails makes the race attractive.

As the event expands (with a higher profile in 2025 and beyond), there is potential to attract even larger sponsors (for example, outdoor gear brands or provincial tourism agencies) while keeping the local partnerships strong. The strategic alignment between the Salty Marie Trails Fest and its sponsors is clear: all stakeholders share an interest in promoting Sault Ste. Marie’s trails, boosting the local economy, and fostering community well-being.

Community Engagement and Local Benefits

Community engagement is at the heart of The Salty Marie Trails Fest. From day one, the festival was designed not only as a competition but as a community celebration of trail culture. This is evident in the inclusive activities, local volunteer involvement, and the way the event gives back to local organizations. Unlike some races that parachute into a town with a solely competitive focus, the Salty Marie has actively woven itself into the social fabric of Sault Ste. Marie.

Volunteerism: The festival marshals an impressive volunteer force, underscoring local pride in the event. Well before race weekend, calls go out for “SALTY volunteers” to help make the event a success. Dozens of community members sign up to handle tasks such as course marshalling, staffing registration tables, manning aid stations on the trails, parking cars, and cleanup. In 2024, organizers reported “a crew of absolute legends” among the volunteers and sent out detailed info packs to all helpers before race day. The involvement of groups like the Sault Cycling Club and Search and Rescue in volunteer roles also strengthens community bonds – for example, local Search and Rescue personnel often volunteer as on-course medics, ensuring safety while participating themselves. The City’s Tourism Director Travis Anderson, an avid cyclist, even joined as a co-host on a local podcast about the festival, illustrating how civic leaders personally engage.

1. Local Vendors and Culture: The Salty Marie Trails Fest creates a temporary arena or expo at the trailhead where local vendors, artisans, and food providers can showcase their offerings. As the promotional materials put it: “Not looking to ride? Come check out our arena with a variety of food, drink, excitement and wares from local vendors!”. The tagline for 2025, “race hard, hang out harder,” encapsulates this spirit of balancing competition with community recreation. In essence, the festival provides a gathering place for the town and visitors to mingle, which can build social capital and local goodwill.
2. Youth and Inclusivity: Engaging the next generation has been another focus. Each year the festival includes a kids’ race (the “Saltine Shred” 2 km) so that children as young as 5 can participate on the trails in a safe, fun event . The organizers note that many local kids have been through the Sault Cycling Club’s “Kids Shredding Singletrack (KSS)” program, and the 10 km race course is purposefully designed to overlap with trails those kids know . This lowers barriers to entry and encourages families to involve their kids in the festival. The presence of youth events and family-friendly activities (e.g. face painting, pop-up bike skills park, etc., as have been mentioned in local promotions) helps integrate the festival into the community’s family life. It’s not uncommon to see three generations of a Sault Ste. Marie family at the Trails Fest – perhaps a parent racing the 25 km, a child doing the 2 km, and a grandparent volunteering or spectating. That multigenerational appeal is a hallmark of strong community engagement.
3. Giving Back – Proceeds to Community Groups: A standout aspect of the Salty Marie Trails Fest is that it is structured to reinvest in the community. The event is not a big commercial enterprise; rather, after covering its costs, it donates proceeds to local non-profits that support the trail system and public safety. Specifically, the festival announced that “proceeds from the Trails Fest go to organizations that make it possible to safely ride the trails at Hiawatha”: namely The Kinsmen Club of Sault Ste. Marie, The Sault Cycling Club, and Sault Ste. Marie Search and Rescue. Each of these groups plays a role in the local trail ecosystem – the Kinsmen fund and maintain the Hiawatha clubhouse and some infrastructure, the Cycling Club builds and grooms trails, and Search and Rescue ensures lost or injured trail users can be helped. By funneling event profits to them, the festival creates a virtuous circle: the more successful the event, the more resources these groups have to improve the trail network and rider safety, which in turn enhances future events. TThis model mirrors what some other trail events do (for instance, the Leadville Race Series in Colorado similarly supports local schools and nonprofits with its proceeds ). In a small city like Sault Ste. Marie, these contributions are highly visible and help cement the festival’s reputation as a force for community good.

Community engagement in the Salty Marie Trails Fest is multi-faceted and robust. Through volunteerism, local business participation, youth inclusion, charitable giving, and celebration of local culture, the festival has deeply involved the community in its planning and execution. This engagement not only enhances the experience for participants but also ensures the festival’s sustainability – the people of Sault Ste. Marie feel invested in its continuation and success. The approach has turned the Salty Marie Trails Fest into “a broad community event with appeal beyond just cycling enthusiasts” , truly achieving its aim of celebrating all things trail with the whole community.

Comparative Analysis: Similar Trail Festivals in Remote Communities

To put the scale and value of the Salty Marie Trails Fest in context, it is useful to compare it with similar outdoor trail festivals in other remote or rural locales. Events of this nature – which combine races with festival-style programming – have been successful in many parts of North America, often bringing significant economic and social benefits to their host communities. Below, we examine two comparable cases and how they relate to Salty Marie in scale and impact.

1. Copper Harbor Trails Fest (Michigan, USA): One analogous event is the Copper Harbor Trails Fest in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Copper Harbor is a tiny remote town (population ~100) that has become famous among mountain bikers for its trail network. The Copper Harbor Trails Fest, now in its fourth decade, showcases how a grassroots trail festival can grow and sustain a community. Started in the early 1990s with just a few dozen local riders “cruising up and down two-tracks”, it has evolved into a major Labor Day weekend festival with “several hundred racers” each year and many more spectators . Like Salty Marie, it features multiple races for mountain bikers, trail runners, and kids, as well as live music and beer gardens each evening . Despite Copper Harbor’s isolated location, the festival transforms the village into a “biker’s paradise for one weekend” – an impressive feat given the town’s size . The economic impact is considerable: with hundreds of visitors descending on the town, local lodging is fully booked and restaurants and shops are bustling. The Trails Fest is also the primary fundraiser for the Copper Harbor Trails Club, funding trail maintenance for the rest of the year. In terms of relative scale, Copper Harbor’s event draws perhaps 300–500 racers (comparable to Salty Marie’s ~350 racers goal for 2025) but in a town only 1/750th the population of Sault Ste. Marie. Thus, the per-capita impact there is enormous – the festival crowd literally outnumbers locals several times over, underscoring how a trail festival can dwarf its host community in size. The success of Copper Harbor Trails Fest over 30+ years also suggests a potential trajectory for Salty Marie: with continued community support and quality trails, it could become a long-running annual tradition that anchors tourism in Sault Ste. Marie each summer.
2. Leadville Trail 100 Series (Colorado, USA): Another instructive comparison, albeit at a larger scale, is the Leadville Trail 100 race series in Leadville, Colorado. Leadville is a small mountain town (population ~2,600, high in the Rockies) that in the 1980s was economically devastated by mining closures. In 1983, local organizers created the Leadville 100 ultra-marathon to attract visitors and inspire the community. Over the years, the Leadville Trail 100 grew into a series of events (100-mile run, 100-mile mountain bike race, stage races, etc.) that collectively draw thousands of participants and spectators each August. The impact on Leadville’s economy has been dramatic. A study by Colorado Mountain College estimated the race series brings about $15 million USD annually into the local economy. During race weekends, the town’s population effectively triples; hotels, campgrounds, and restaurants are full, and “runners patronizing hotels, restaurants, rec centers and tourist activities” are the norm. Moreover, the race series has established a foundation that gives back to the community, providing scholarships for local students and funding for local volunteer agencies.

In relative scale, the Salty Marie Trails Fest (with a few hundred participants in a city of 75,000) is still modest compared to giants like Leadville (thousands of participants in a town of 2,600) or even Canadian Death Race (~1,000 in a village of 3,500). However, scale is relative – Salty Marie is one of the only events of its kind in Northern Ontario, thus it holds outsized importance for its region.

Conclusion

In just three years, the Salty Marie Trails Fest has emerged as a vibrant case study of how a trail-sport event can impact a small, remote community. Economically, it has begun to draw new visitors and tourism spending into Sault Ste. Marie, validating local investment in trail infrastructure and contributing to the city’s push to become an outdoor adventure hub. Sponsorship-wise, a coalition of municipal support and local business backing has provided the resources needed to grow the festival, reflecting a shared belief in its mission. Community engagement has been a cornerstone: from volunteers to vendors to charities, the festival is deeply interwoven with local stakeholders and reciprocates by supporting the very organizations that sustain the trail system. The event’s evolution – more races, more days, more participants each year – illustrates a responsive scaling to demand and enthusiasm, with the 2025 edition marking a new high point in scope and ambition.

Is the Soo the Outdoor Capital of Ontario?

Looking outward, the Salty Marie Trails Fest stands on the shoulders of similar trail festivals that have revitalized rural communities across North America. Its trajectory is promising: with continued community-driven growth, Salty Marie can become a signature annual festival for Northern Ontario, on par with well-known events in other regions. The comparative examples show that such events, when nurtured, can deliver outsized benefits in economic diversification, international reputation, and community pride. As one tourism official put it, “the Salty Marie Trails Fest exemplifies the type of event that supports and strengthens trail development initiatives” and contributes to “positioning Sault Ste. Marie as a premier trail-based tourism hub” and . The Salty Marie Trails Fest has proven to be far more than just a weekend race – it is a catalyst for local economic activity, a model of sponsor-community partnership, and a hell-of-a celebration that engages the whole community. With its momentum and solid foundation, the Salty Marie Trails Fest is poised to salt the rim of success for years to come, continuing to “celebrate all things outdoors” in Sault Ste. Marie in an ever bigger and bolder way .

References
1. Tourism Sault Ste. Marie Board (2025). Tourism Development Fund Application Summary – Salty Marie Trails Fest. (Funding request details, event growth, and projected impact)
2. Canadian Cycling Magazine (2024). “The Salty Marie: An incredible MTB Festival with amazing trails and entertainment.” (Overview of second-year event, inclusive festival atmosphere)
3. Singletracks MTB News (2024). “Sault Ste. Marie is ‘Ontario’s BC.’…Under-the-radar trails like a local.” (Origins of Salty Marie, race format and distances, one-day event selling out)
4. Sault Ste. Marie Tourism (2024). *Travelogue – Salty Marie Trails Fest (Q&A with organizer Graham Atkinson). * (“Race hard, hang out harder” – discussion of event evolution, out-of-town visitors, plans for 2025)
5. KOA Campgrounds – Sault Ste. Marie KOA (2024). Event Listing: The Salty Marie Trails Fest. (Description of festival activities and note that proceeds go to local organizations)
6. Tourism Sault Ste. Marie Board Minutes (2024). (October 22, 2024 meeting excerpt). (Record of increased registration from 2023 to 2024)
7. Tourism Sault Ste. Marie Board Agenda (April 15, 2025). (TDF Application – Salty Marie Trails Fest.) (Details on 2023 and 2024 attendance figures, funding provided, 2025 plans including 200km ultra, and economic impact calculation)
8. Red Pine Tours Canada – The Salty Marie (official event page). (General event info, distances, encouragement for all levels, local vendors mention)
9. Sault Ste. Marie Tourism – Salty Marie Trails Fest article (2023). (Quote: “something special spinning in the woods… inaugural and second-year editions punched above their weight”)
10. Deadspin (2014). “Endurance Is Booming, But Has Leadville Trail 100 Gone Too Far?” (Economic impact study: Leadville Race Series brings ~$15M annually to town of 2,600; race series’ community contributions)
11. Visit Keweenaw Blog (2022). “Insider Guide to the Copper Harbor Trails Festival.” (History and scale of Copper Harbor Trails Fest: nearly 29 years running, several hundred racers in a town of 100; festival events and atmosphere)
12. Facebook – Salty Marie Trails Fest Page (2023). (Sponsor thank-you post). (“Salty Marie Race Weekend wouldn’t be possible without the support of our incredible partners…⭐️Tourism Sault Ste. Marie…”)
13. The Borderline (2024). “The Trails – The Salty Marie Podcast (Part 3/6)” (City official Travis Anderson’s perspective on trail development and tourism, importance of events like Salty Marie)
14. CTV News Northern Ontario (2023). “Cyclists hit the trails for the ‘Salty Marie’” (Coverage of inaugural festival: noted as first of its kind in SSM, combined cyclists and runners at Hiawatha)
15. Instagram @SaltyMarieTrailsFest (2024). (Volunteer call and thank-you posts). (Evidence of volunteer recruitment and appreciation; community engagement through social media announcements)
16. Singletracks (2024). (Interview with Katie Wenham, race director.) (Community-driven design of event, inclusive approach, notes that future expansion to whole weekend was considered – which happened in 2025)
17. City of Leadville/Lake County (2025). News Flash: Joint Work Session on Race Series. (Local officials discussing balancing event benefits with community impacts, valuing race series’ contribution but seeking improvements – analogous to community considerations for growing events)
18. Global News (2017). “Grande Prairie runner wins gruelling Canadian Death Race…” (Describes Canadian Death Race in Grand Cache – an example of a remote Canadian trail event drawing many participants to a small town)
19. Saulttourism.com – Events Listing (Salty Marie Trails Fest). (Event description reinforcing that it’s presented by Red Pine Tours and includes biking, running, kids events, vendors, demos, etc.)
20. Canadian Cycling Magazine (2024). (Community vibe and trail development in SSM.) (Discussion of SSM’s trail expansion: $1.5M invested, 40+ km trails; how tourism and marketing efforts in past 3 years have attracted riders – context for festival’s success)