the great trail – Meanderthals

Canada’s ‘Great Trail’ Is Finally Connected

Jeff — Sat, 02 Sep 2017 16:06:23 +0000

In 1992, three Canadians, inspired by their country’s 125th birthday celebration, thought up a crazy plan. What if they could connect all of Canada’s hiking trails, footpaths, rail trails, and boardwalks into one giant mega-trail that snaked from coast to coast?

It’s now 2017. Canada has celebrated its 150th birthday. And on August 26th, those three dreamers—along with the thousands of volunteers who helped clear brush, fix planks, put up signs, and do all the other little tasks that make wilderness passable—celebrated the coast-to-coast connection of what they’re calling the Great Trail.

The trail can be used for biking, hiking, and horseback riding in the summer, and cross-country skiing and snowmobiling in the winter. “First you build it, then get people using it and then it becomes an icon that will hopefully last forever,” Paul LaBarge, one of the original founders.

The path stretches 24,000 kilometers, or nearly 15,000 miles, criss-crossing southern Canada before forming a huge loop in the Northwest. A quarter of this length is water—wetland and river routes where hikers will have to trade boots for boats.

It’s also over five times as long as the West Coast’s famed Pacific Crest Trail, and over six times as long as the Appalachian.

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Canada to complete world’s longest recreational trail

Jeff — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 15:45:07 +0000

Cyclists in Canada will soon be able to pedal from Newfoundland on the Atlantic coast to Vancouver Island in the Pacific Ocean, without having to share a road with a single car. The Great Trail, as it’s known, is set to open in 2017 in time for Canada’s 150th birthday. Once complete, the trail will stretch 15,000 miles (24,000km) through each of the country’s 13 provinces and territories and touch three oceans, becoming the longest recreational trail in the world.

Besides biking, hiking and horseback riding, the path will be open in winter for cross country skiing and snowmobiling. And with a quarter of the trail on water, canoes, kayaks or other water craft can also be used.

Formerly called the Trans Canada Trail, the Great Trail is made up of newly designated pathways, along with some 400 community trails that have been linked together, such as the Galloping Goose in British Columbia and the Petit Témis in Quebec.

A large portion of the trail is located on defunct rail lines donated by Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railway. No single entity owns the trail. Instead, it’s managed and maintained by trail and conservation groups, as well as local, regional and national government bodies, making it one of the largest volunteer projects in the country.

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