parks canada

Our visit to Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site in Victoria, BC was, for lack of a better word, historic. It was the first time that the Trail Care Crew hosted a trailbuilding school at a National Historic Site and only the second time that we couldn't dig a trail (the first was last season at Gulf Islands National Park because of snow).

While we were prepping our project in Nipigon, Ontario one of the long time residents and trail advocates stopped in to see what we were up to. He was impressed at how Chad was swinging Heidi the hoe and at the style of trail we were constructing. During our conversation he asked us “How much do you guys get paid per foot?” After considering his question he answered for us. “You get paid by every happy foot that travels along your trail”.

Located at the very tip of the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec, Forillon National Park was created in 1970. Like all of Canada's national parks, it is home to amazing terrain and scenery. Most of the trails in the park are either old roads or were created in the early years of the park. Forillon is home to a section of the International Appalachian Trail, has a couple of family friendly cycling trails and an entirely different winter trail network.

The Bruce Peninsula National Park (BPNP) is known for its most iconic feature, the Grotto. Hundreds of thousands of people visit the rocky beaches at the Grotto every year and yet very few of those visitors get to experience the beauty of the rest of the park. We had the opportunity to tour the trails and other attractions with a member of the park staff as we did rolling trail assessments over two days.