Tug Hill snowmobile economic-impact study finds industry generates jobs, nearly $82M in sales

LOWVILLE, N.Y. — More than 850 jobs, nearly $29 million in wages, and almost $82 million in sales are attributed to snowmobiling activity in the Tug Hill region.

That’s according to an economic-impact study of snowmobiling activity in the Tug Hill.

Throughout early 2021, a survey was conducted to evaluate the impact of snowmobile-user spending on the Tug Hill region. The Center for Community Studies at Jefferson Community College (JCC) developed this survey to gather information related to snowmobilers, including number of visits, spending habits, location of origin, and feedback on the trail network. In total, 2,416 surveys were completed.

Lewis County partnered with Jefferson County Economic Development; Lewis County Chamber of Commerce; Oneida County Tourism; Oswego County Community Development, Tourism and Planning; Operation Oswego County; the Tug Hill Commission; and several area snowmobile clubs to contract with the Center for Community Studies at Jefferson Community College (JCC) and Camoin 310 — a Saratoga Springs–based economic-development consulting firm — to undertake the study of snowmobiling in the Tug Hill region.

Survey findings

The snowmobiling study found that in total, 866 jobs, more than $28.8 million in wages (earnings), and nearly $81.6 million in sales are attributed to snowmobile activity.

In addition, snowmobiling generates total tax revenue estimated at nearly $445,000 in Lewis County each year.

The study also found 35,254 unique snowmobile users of Tug Hill trails each year; 52 percent of unique users are non-local users, from outside of the Tug Hill region; non-local users spend a total of 347,337 days in the Tug Hill region each year and participate in activities beyond snowmobiling, including dining out and local events/festivals; and a non-local snowmobiler spends on average $192 per day.