NCC 'officializing' rogue trails in Gatineau Park

After years of warningvisitors of Gatineau Park to stay on the trail, the National Capital Commission (NCC) has begun converting many so-calledrogue hiking and cycling paths into legitimate routes.

Beyond the 200 kilometres of official forest routes maintained by the NCC, park managers estimatethere are more than 300 kilometres of unofficial trails.

The number of those trails hassnowballed in the era of mobile mapping apps like AllTrails,and beginning in 2017, the NCC began to take an"if you can't beat them, join them" approach.

Off-piste misadventures have become common in Gatineau Park in recent years.

Last November one hiker was injured on a steep cliff face and needed to be rescued by firefighters from several of the municipalities that border the park.

Not long after, another visitor ventured off a designated path, became lost and required rescuing.

"It's always complicated, and it's at night," saidChelsea Fire Department Chief Charles Ethier, who pointed out the risk to rescuers.

"There's a chance of falling, so it's always a difficult intervention."

Even if a lost hiker'sphone does have reception, merely sending co-ordinates to rescuers may not help if there's no record of the trail the visitor followed into theirpredicament, said Ethier.

Pierre-Olivier Dorego, outdoor recreation manager for Gatineau Park, admittedthe proliferation of new paths through the forest by users ofmapping apps has caused park authorities newheadaches.

Still, planners have tried to take a philosophical approach.

"We have to keep in mind that these trails are there for a reason," said Dorego, who added DIY trails often connected residential neighbourhoods to the park, or offered a recreational experience not available elsewhere.

Beginning in2017, the NCCheld publicconsultations with users about which unofficial trails deserved to be made official.

Hang-gliders, equestrians, snowmobilers, hikers, cyclists and other groups weighed in duringa series of public meetings.

In the endabout 100 kilometres of the330 kilometres ofrogue routes were accepted, often with modifications. The DIY trails were evaluated on the basis of their recreational value andenvironmental impact.

Dorego said some proposed routes had to be immediatelyruled out of bounds whenthey charted courses across sensitive and legally protected habitats for animals such asperegrine falcons andwestern chorus frogs, and plants such asAmerican butternut.

Others caused unacceptable fragmentation in the range of larger mammals like deer.

But in many other cases, the park has allowed users to take the lead.

"We're hoping that these provide the experiences thatpeople are looking for on the unofficial trails and we will be able to close the unofficial trails that are problematic from a safety and environmental point of view," Dorego said.

Phase 1, completed in 2019, made about 14 kilometres of trails official. It brought trails 41, 42, 43, 66, 67, 68, 76, 77, 79 and 80 in Gatineau and Chelsea into the NCC canon.

Phase 2 added 53B, 58, 59 and 72Babout 17 kilometres in totalin the Wakefield area.

WATCH| Why the NCC is giving official status to some rogue Gatineau Park hiking trails

Why the NCC is giving official status to some rogue Gatineau Park hiking trails

2 years ago

Duration 1:37

Pierre-Olivier Dorego, outdoor recreation manager for Gatineau Park, says the National Capital Commission will convert some of the parks many unofficial trails into legitimate routes, as ad-hoc trails pose both safety and environmental concerns.

Volunteers have donated thousands of hours of their time to trim, lop and blaze the paths that got the NCC nod.

Dorego estimates that by summer 2024, 100 kilometres of "crowdsourced" routes will show up on official NCC maps.

It's music to the ears of Patrick Hannan, who confessed to riding his mountain bike on "unofficial trails" andfrequently running into conflict with hikerswho were also on the out-of-bounds routes.

"With officializing them, they know it's a shared trail. I get less insults or remarks," he said.