We covered a lot of miles through northwest Ontario in only a few days. After Ottawa we spent half a day in Bancroft with Dave Naulls who owns Endo Cycles. He had just received a visit from Daniel Scott with our Trail Solutions program. Together, they explored the potential for Bancroft to develop a whole series of trail networks. We were there to provide an evening presentation to locals who represented various trail interests.
Over the following two days we traveled towards Thunder Bay where our next visit would be. We thought we might be too early for the fall colors that Ontario is known for. Luckily, a sufficient numbers of trees had changed to provide some spectacular palettes. The views of the northern shores of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior also provided a nice distraction from the many hours on the road.
James Wilson has been brought on by the Trans Canada Trail to examine the feasibility of a rail to trail conversion on an old CN line for the TCT. He was our contact for the Thunder Bay visit and we spent an entire day driving and hiking around the city looking at possible routes and connections. The new four lane highway presented a problem because the trail needed to cross it twice in order to include the Terry Fox monument on its route.
Thunder Bay is a city that Canadians should keep an eye on. There are big changes happening right now including a completely new waterfront. The Prime Minister had paid a visit the week before us (we think they timed it like that so we wouldn’t steal the lime light). Since it’s the only major urban centre for quite a distance, the city wants to develop its outdoor offerings to become an adventure destination. They’ve got a beautiful lakefront location, a new Parks Canada freshwater conservation area in the works, rock climbing everywhere you look and almost limitless land for developing trail networks. We hope to be back next year for a longer visit.