Trail Openings and Events
Saugeen Rail Trail Opening June 29th, 2013
The Ontario Trails Council is pleased to support the folks and trail organizations in Saugeen Shores as they open a section of trail this Saturday. While at Trailhead Ontario we were contacted by Joyce Scammell of the Saugeen Rail Trail Association, and we responded. Best of luck to all on Saturday. Letter posted to member section of OTC website.
Pan-Am Path and OTC Meeting on Friday
“The Pan Am Path is a multi-use path that connects the city from Brampton, down along the Humber River, along to the waterfront, up the Lower Don, and then up to Scarborough through the hydro corridor,” explains James Gen Meers, one of the founders of Friends of the Pan Am Path, the non-profit that’s formed to champion this project. “It is a trail system that already kind of exists in the city of Toronto, but is missing certain pieces that are required to make it a non-stop continuous path, and that’s what the path is about: leveraging some of the political capital in time for the Pan Am Games to invest in the infrastructure required to make a continuous path.”
Essentially, the idea is to use a small amount of money—the infrastructure costs and initial programming are estimated at $1.9 million—to create a much greater benefit by linking together a bunch of trails that, right now, come close to each other, but are not part of a single travel route. Of the 80-kilometre total, only 5–10 per cent would be new construction. It’s a small number, but filling in those blanks will remake the trails into an entirely new experience for the city, Friends of the Pan Am Path thinks.
Niagara Trails Committee with OTC Meet Mayor Sharpe -Trail Given reprieve
Waterfront Trail - Lake Erie Adventure 2013
Huron County Assessing Issues of Trail Development
Bruce Trail Opens Two side Trails in Orangeville
Ontario Trails and Ontario Equestrian Federation launch horse survey
Bruce County Promoting Rock Climbing
Bruce Peninsula cliffs bring in daring tourists
Owen Sound Sun Times
County tourism officials will work with the Ontario Access Coalition, a volunteer group that promotes environmentally responsible rock climbing, ...
See and feel how good nature is for you by getting out at least once a day
Research has shown that early-morning cardio in a fasted state can burn up to 20 percent more calories; however hitting the grass versus the treadmill provides a number of further benefits that may just surprise you. Fitting in some nature, or vitamin N, may just be the secret to unlocking a better mood, faster metabolism and stronger memory.
1. Beat belly fat
Research shows that people who live near trees and parks have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their saliva than those who live in a concrete jungle. A Japanese study found that a forest walk can render a 12 percent decrease in cortisol levels, a seven percent decrease in sympathetic nerve activity (which would contribute to anxiety), a one percent decrease in blood pressure, and a five percent decrease in heart rate. The more you can get yourself into a green space, the better it is for your body composition — and sanity, for that matter.
2. Go green to beat the blues.
Forget retail therapy, try nature therapy. I recently saw an anonymous quote posted on my Facebook page that said, “There’s no Wi-Fi in the forest, but I promise you will find a better connection,” and I couldn’t agree more. Whether you’re having a bad day, or a tough year, seeking out an area with a lot of greenery has been shown to improve both mood and memory in depressed individuals. In one Michigan study, participants exhibited significant increases in memory span and mood after walks in nature versus urban walks. This is perhaps why many people battle the cottage traffic every Friday night to spend a couple of days in the great outdoors before heading back into the city for another week in the grind. If you don’t have a cottage escape, look up some local trails. It’s an inexpensive, instantly gratifying and calorie-free way to lift your mood.
3. Combat brain fog
If you’re drawing a blank with a project at work, a study from Scotland suggests getting outside for a walk in the park. Researchers took volunteers through three areas: a historic shopping district with old buildings and light traffic, a park-like setting and a busy commercial district with heavy traffic while they wore portable EEGs on their heads to relay their brain waves.While the participants were in the commercial area they produced brain wave patterns conducive with frustration versus the parkland that showed patterns similar to meditation. Bottom line: If you can get out for your lunch and head to a park for 20 minutes you may find yourself more productive the rest of the day.
4. Help nurture creativity
Between our iPhones, laptops and tablets we’re continuously plugged in. However, spending time away from battery-operated devices and in nature has been linked to a 50 percent increase in creativity, something scientists refer to as attentional restoration theory. Bottom line: If you’re heading into a green space this long weekend, be sure to leave yourself unplugged for optimal health benefits.
5. Sleep more soundly
If you find yourself doing everything right and still tossing and turning at night, head outdoors for a walk down your favourite nature trail. Researchers found that forest walking improved actual sleep time, immobile minutes, self-rated depth of sleep and sleep quality. And for even better results, according to the study, you should aim to have this walk later in the day versus earlier. Bottom line: With the longer summer days I recommend taking advantage of an after-dinner walk not just to influence your waistline, but also your bedtime.
6. Get green at home
If you live in the city and you can only escape on the weekends, there are many benefits to adding a little greenery around the house and the office. According to researchers at Kansas State University, adding plants to hospital rooms speeds recovery rates of surgical patients. Compared to patients in rooms without plants, patients in rooms with plants request less pain medication, have lower blood pressure, experience less stress, and are released from the hospital sooner. Bottom line: Feeling stressed at work? Add a potted plant and you will find yourself feeling healthier and taking less time off to battle the seasonal cold.
From http://www.chatelaine.com/health/wellness/health-benefits-of-nature/
Feature Destination
Lennox & Addington County Trails
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Offering 12 well mapped and signed road routes with plenty of paved shoulders, there are over 600km of great cycling around and north from theNapanee area.
While these trails have been available for a number of years, the folks at L&A have created a new promotion for 2013 called 'Do the Dozen Challenge'. Cyclists are invited to go anytime, cycle at their own pace and check into way-finding points along the way. Once complete, their name will go down in history and they become eligible to win a prize pack worth $500.
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National Post
The shuttered Ontario Place will get a new urban park and waterfront trail, Ontario's Minister of Tourism and Culture
Michael Chan announced on Wednesday. Mr. Chan told a Wednesday morning press conference on the former tourist attraction's now-empty ...
Trail Questions
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) Capital Funding for Trails - Please take a minute to complete the capital funding section of our survey. A s many communities head into the budget cycle other communities want to get an idea of the relative and comparative amounts communities of similar size are investing in their trails. Please go to:
Trailhead Ontario - Thanks to All!
Local Support - we wish to thank Kawarthas Northumberland and Peterborough Kawarthas Tourism and the Canadian Canoe Museum for their support and planning for this event. We thank all the trail ambassadors the RTO folks found for our session events. Special thanks to Christine Painter, Vanessa Twiddy and Karen Theriault for their unfailing support of our event!
Trails Education - Select a Program!
We have updated the program and our 14 module program is here for the using. If you have staff to train, trails to manage or want a session in your area on a particular topic let us know. We'll coordinate a session or series on your behalf.
Trails Insurance Program AvailableOnce again, members of the trails community find themselves seeking alternative trails insurance. The volatility and unpredictability of your insurance plan keeping you hopping? Wondering what you are getting, curious if your agent or the underwriter understands trails?
If you want:
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cost stability
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product assurance
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insurance perseverance
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a broker that understands trails
At OTC our mission is "trail preservation." See the note from Intercity Insurance, Mike King, below.
Further to our recent discussions, I wanted to let you know that we have investigated various markets to get a sense of the appetite that insurers have for coverage associated with trails. Our findings suggest that coverage is available - but from a very limited number of carriers and that the cost of insurance in this class is not heading down anytime soon. The reality is that there have been losses associated with trails in general and that the frequency and severity of claims is on the rise.
On the positive side of the issue, we have had several specific discussions of late with our current carriers at Lloyd's of London and we are (collectively) very interested in ramping up our work with OTC to connect with your associates who manage trails. We and the insurers we represent are firm in our commitment to work collaboratively with the OTC trail community to develop a comprehensive risk management strategy that makes sense - and insurance is just one part of that strategy.
As for what trail insurance products we have "in the box” right now:
a) Commercial General Liability coverage —premium costs start at $1,000.00 for $2,000,000 coverage.
b) Directors and Officers liability coverage — premium costs start at $200.00 for $I,000,000 coverage. We find that even the smallest community group is seeing the importance of acquiring D and O coverage.
c) Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage - premiums start at $250. 00 to cover the Officers, Directors, employees, members. The limit of coverage is $100,000.
In the near future OTC will be bundling these products as a part of membership services and products.
Performance Measures - Trail Counts!
Low maintenance - Using weatherproof decals our methods allow users to quickly and easily provide you with information you need to assess, improve, direct, re-direct, or provide information to the user - while on the trail. Our proprietary method has been developed by over 140 trail users and with the input of The City of Thunder Bay and Norfolk County Trail Managers.
Packages - OTC Member? - Take $25.00 off each package!
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Blue - 4-10 trails: $300.00 plus HST and registration fees
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Maximum 20 sheets of decals
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Green - 10-20 trails: $500.00 plus HST and registration fees
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Maximum 40 sheets of decals
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Gold - 20 or more trails: Starting at $1,000 plus HST and registration fees
Go to
Trail Counts! to purchase. Thanks
Ontario Trails - Your Data Wanted
Since 2007 the Ontario Trails Council has collected trails data, and turned that data into our award winning website, as mandated by the desires of the trails community reflected in the Ontario Trails Strategy. Nearly 1,000,000 people a year turn to this information in order to find you and your trails.
The characteristics we are looking for are:
1. Measurements
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Trailhead Longitude
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Trailhead Latitude
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Completion Time (hours)
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Elevation Change (m)
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Trailhead Elevation (m)
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Maximum Elevation (m)
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Cross Slope Average (%)
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Cross Slope Maximum (%)
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Minimum Trail Width (m)
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Average Trail Width (m)
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Maximum Grade (%)
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Average Grade (%)
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Trail Surface
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Trail Classification (Trail Group/Local Classification/Difficulty/ Rating eg: OFSC Trail Classes)
4. Prohibited Trail Uses
5. Trail Hazards (Poison Ivy, Steep Slopes)
6. Trail Fees (Day Pass, Donation, Parking etc.)
7. Seasons/Dates of Operation
8. Trail Amenities (Visitor Centre, Beach, Boat Launch etc.)
9. Trail Enforcement
10. Trail Permits
11. Trail Speed Limit
12. Trail Signage
13. Trail Environmental Concerns
14. Trail Permitted Use (Dogs on Leash)
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Date of Collection
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Data Collector
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Trail sensitivity (high /low)
So let us know if you are willing to support us by sharing data you already have.
execdir@ontariotrails.ca Thanks