BC Trail Guides for Snowmobiling

Click on the links below to view various BC snowmobile trail guides:

Recreation Trail Strategy for BC: draft Background Report

Dear Government Organizations, Stakeholders, Clubs and other interested parties,

The Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts is pleased to present the draft Recreation Trail Strategy for British Columbia: Background Report.  

This Background Report was completed as the first phase of a multi-phase process for developing a recreation trail strategy for BC.

The primary goal of the Recreation Trail Strategy is to ensure the full range of economic, social and environmental benefits of BC’s exceptional trail system are realized thorough a collaborative, sustainable approach to trail management across the Province.   A major step in this process will be to coordinate the roles and responsibilities of the many government agencies and stakeholder groups that have historically been involved in managing BC’s trails.

BC is blessed with diverse and spectacular landscapes that are home to several world-class destination trails, such as the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, the Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail, the West Coast Trail, and the Trans Canada Trail.  There are at least 8,700 kilometres of known trails on BC Crown land outside of Parks.  BC parks contain another 7000 kilometres of trails.  These trails provide a wide variety of recreational experiences for both non-motorized and motorized users.  Managing a trail system of this size requires a shared and sustainable vision between all levels of governments, First Nations, the private sector, not-for-profit organizations, stakeholder groups, and the public.

The Background Report, includes an overview assessment of the existing status of BC’s trail network.  The second phase, soon to be undertaken, will focus on the strategy development process through a Trail Advisory Committee consisting of government agency representatives and stakeholder groups.  The process may involve community workshops and open houses in various regions throughout the Province.  Subsequent phases will involve implementing the strategy, monitoring effectiveness, and modifying the strategy as required.

With all the interests and viewpoints on how BC’s trails should be managed, a key premise of the Trails Strategy is that the process be consultative, transparent, representative and balanced.  The end result will be a world-renowned trail system with the potential to provide recreational, health, economic, social and environmental benefits to individuals, communities, and the Province as a whole.

Thank you to the many stakeholders, government organizations and interest groups that responded to the BC Recreation Trail Survey.  The input received from 91 respondents played a key role in the development of this report and will continue to guide the process as we move into the next stages.  We look forward to working with you during the rest of this process.

Please direct any comments and feedback on the Background Report to the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts at RecInfo@gov.bc.ca.  A copy of the Background Report and associated appendices can be found on the MTSA, Recreation, Sites and Trails website at http://www.tsa.gov.bc.ca/publicrec/Rec_Trails_Strategy_forBC.htm

Sincerely,

John Hawkings
Provincial Trails Manager (acting)
Recreation Sites & Trails Section
Ministry of Tourism, Sport & the Arts
Ph 604.898.2105 │ Fax 604.898.2191
mailto:John.Hawkings@gov.bc.ca

Adobe PDF Downloads: