BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 27, 2021
The combination of the pandemic and a late first significant snow has meant a difficult season on top of a difficult year for many hotels and motels in the St. John Valley. And it all comes down to losing out on the most essential winter staple in the County economy: snowmobilers. Hotel and motel owners are used to seeing an influx of out-of-state guests, but that has been limited by Maine’s travel restrictions. On top of the drop in out-of-state sledders, snowmobilers from Canada, can’t come at all this year. The border closed to non-essential travel in mid-March last year and won’t open until mid-March this year at the earliest.