In 2010, even the trails will be barrier-free.
Get closer to nature on one of Canada’s top five wheelchair-friendly hiking trails.
by CTC News Staff 9 June 2009. Courtesy Canadian Tourism Commission
The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games promise to be the most accessible ever—right down to the famously scenic hiking trails in and around the British Columbia host destinations.
In fact, you could argue the concept of wheelchair-friendly hiking was pioneered right here: former Vancouver, BC mayor Sam Sullivan, a paraplegic, co-invented the TrailRider to open up rugged terrain to the disabled. Problem is, you can’t operate it by yourself. So for the wheelchair-bound, the Holy Grail remains a nature trail that can be navigated independently. Happily, Canada’s ahead of the pack there, too. Here’s our pick of top wheelchair-accesible trails:
Seymour Valley Trailway:
North Vancouver, BC. A butter-smooth, 10-km (6-mi) path snaking through the heavily wooded 5,668-ha Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve, with lots of places to stop and picnic, and cool natural-history interpretative signs en route to the fish hatchery at trail’s end.
Inland Lake Trail:
Powell River, BC. A 12-km (7.5-mi) circuit on crushed limestone. Punctuated by wheelchair-accessible cabins that are actually reserved for the disabled. (Currently being built: a family resort/camp that’ll connect to the trail.)
The Galloping Goose:
southern Vancouver Island, BC. This 55-km (34-mi) wide, pea-gravel path is a rails-to-trails conversion that crosses a couple of spectacular wooden trestles and winds through thick canopy, birdsong and farmland. It’s best to stop and overnight at Sooke—the final stretch to the old mining town of Leechtown is unwelcomingly coarse gravel.)
Marl Lake Trail:
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, AB. This is a five-km (three-mi) hike on hard-packed dirt through Kananaskis Country (think “Brokeback Mountain”) pine forest, with deer and elk and wapiti all around. Bonus: it connects to William Watson Lodge, a lodge-and-cabin resort dedicated to people with disabilities.
The Rideau Trail: Ottawa, ON.
This actually runs all the way from Kingston to Ottawa, but the smoothest stretch is a three-km (1.9-mi) loop in Ottawa (Canada’s capital) itself: Parliament Hill, the National Arts Centre and the cunning lock system of the Rideau Canal.
HIKES AROUND WHISTLER, BC:
The Valley Trail:
13.8 km, (8.6 mi) just west of Whistler Village. Paved.
Four Lakes Trail:
Six km, (3.7 mi) in Alice Lake Provincial Park, between Whistler and Squamish. Best time to visit: between May and mid-September.
HIKES AROUND VANCOUVER, BC:
The Stanley Park Seawall:
Almost 10 km (six mi) of smooth pavement, offering rare beach access as you loop the park.
West Dyke Trail:
5.5 km (3.4 mi) of hard-pack and pea gravel above scenic marshland in Richmond, close to the speed-skating oval and accessible hotels and restaurants. Mountain views, great birding.