Kyla Dawson loves being outdoors. In fact, the thought of spending hours inside a hockey rink cramps her style—so when her kids, Bradley and Hailey, were born, Dawson wanted to encourage them to get into snowmobiling and ATVing so that she could become a motorsports mom instead of a hockey mom.

Dawson lives in Sorrento, B.C., and she and her husband, Derry Dawson, have been avid sledders for several years. When Bradley, 4½ , and Hailey, 2½, were old enough, Dawson took the kids to her parents' farm and introduced them to the sport. Bradley has progressed to riding a 1998 Ski-Doo Mini-ZX and Hailey is learning on an Arctic Cat Kitty Kat. Because the children are too young to venture into the mountains on family snowmobiling trips, Dawson and her husband decided to buy a side-by-side for the family.

“The best thing about it is that we all get to go together,” said Dawson.

In summer, the Dawsons spend every second weekend exploring trails in the Skimikin area, which is located west of Salmon Arm, B.C. They also ride at Harper Lake near Chase, B.C., and at Crowfoot Mountain, which is north of Shuswap Lake near Celista, B.C. Dawson said that in the summertime, the alpine flowers on Crowfoot Mountain are very beautiful.

Family values

When her children get older, Dawson said that she and her husband will start taking their family sledding with them in the mountains. For now, though, she appreciates the quality time that she gets to spend with her kids in the backcountry on their side-by-side.

“I love the bush,” said Dawson. “I love the smell of it and we just have so much fun exploring the outdoors—whether it’s in the snow or in the mud during the summer.”