South Shuswap Destination Trail
Assessing the Possibilities for Our Community
Map credit: Shuswap Trail Alliance
By Jo Anne Malpass
Community engagement on the South Shuswap Destination Trail Planning Project started at the end of May with a series of workshops and a well-attended open house.
The purpose of this initiative is to assess the feasibility and opportunities for growing the existing South Shuswap recreational trail system into an enhanced destination-tourism asset for the South Shuswap communities.
Destination Trails are trails, trail systems, trail-based experiences, and associated infrastructure and amenities that connect to and compliment local communities, culture, and environments but also welcome and attract visitors.
Columbia Shuswap Regional District Parks engaged the Shuswap Trail Alliance to facilitate this planning initiative. It will build on the South Shuswap (CSRD Electoral Area C) Parks and Trails Master Plan, Shuswap Regional Trails Strategy, Shuswap Tourism Strategy, and Secwepemc planning to date.
The first steps include meetings to discuss concepts and enhancements, what should be considered, what are the management challenges and what amenities, infrastructure and services would be needed to connect trails to the community and improve trails experiences.
The desired outcome will be a Destination Trails Planning Framework to guide future trail initiatives in the area that includes an inventory of existing recreational access, recommendations for proposed trails, design parameters, projected costs, and potential for partnerships and implementation - a Framework of what is possible. A draft of this is expected in September.
An initial phase of planning was completed in 2019 that included a review of destination trail trends, values, issues, and best practices, preliminary leadership consultations, field inventories, and an assessment of opportunities and challenges for improving both non-motorized and motorized recreational access management within Electoral Area C. Completion of Indigenous and community engagement was paused during the pandemic.
Important things considered in the final draft are what effect trail development like this will have on habitat, species, water, climate change pressure, Secwépemc First Nations values and interests, forestry, local tourism, local economy and social impacts on local communities. Meetings with Secwépemc leadership indicated that future trail planning needs to take into consideration sacred areas, including the location of traditional medicinal plants, with the primary goal to take care of the land.
Following the Shuswap Trail protocol, this will be done by working together in a spirit of respect, cooperation and stewardship.
Some of the items discussed at one of the workshops include a current limited amount of mountain biking opportunities and the possibility of connecting hiking trails with water access for canoes/paddleboards. (With water on three sides, some are comparing South Shuswap to a peninsula). With more young people and families moving to the area, who are more motorized inclined, considerations to support recreational access management for Off Road Vehicles. On a practical level, concerns were raised about maintaining new infrastructure, given budget and manpower restraints.
One concept is a 140 km loop trail with viewpoints along the way, from Cinnemousun Narrows to Tappen and Blind Bay, connecting to shorter loop trails that connect to water and/or communities.
The community is invited to provide feedback on a Trail Planning Community Questionnaire until June 17 at 4:00 pm. The questionnaire and more information can be found at CSRD connect. https://csrd.civilspace.io/en
