Those with a love for zooming across snow trails in Saskatchewan visited Kelvington on Friday and Saturday for the annual provincial snowmobile festival.

Over 200 people attended the annual event, which was a near max capacity attendance, says Kelvington Trailblazers President Bart Hartl.

"It was a great turnout. The weather was perfect for us, and the trails held out. Everyone was smiling when they got off their sleds at the end of the day."

Hartl, who also sits on the board of the Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association, says that they welcomed local MLA's on Friday afternoon for a ride around the area.

Friday night, attendees of the festival began to show up for a welcome social.

The festival centered around the theme of Route 66, which has played an important part in the history of the SSA, says Hartl.

"Route 66 is sort of where it all started, right here in the Porcupine Forest."

Hartl added that the trail pass system was adopted by the SSA to support grooming and equipment on trails, which has helped the organization grow into what it is today.

Kelvington's involvement in snowmobiling is apparent, with Hartl and another Trailblazer, Kim Bisschop, both on the board of the SSA.

Generating enthusiasm for snowmobiling has transformed quite a bit for the Kelvington club.

In recent years, they have pushed for a wider presence from younger people, and after a trial and error beginning, Hartl says that they have grown their junior presence.

"Kelvington tried out a junior club around four years ago and it didn't really work out. Then we attended a conference in Winnipeg and heard from some junior members and understood what we wanted to do," he explained. "Our club grew from six members in the first meeting to 12, and now there are 18 members all under the age of 21."

Hartl says the oldest member is 17, with the youngest being two-years-old, noting that all members were able to attend the festival this weekend.

The 2019 version will be held in Hudson Bay.