Rossland is becoming as well known for its trail system as it is its skiing! In the last three weeks, the Recreation Department has received several phone calls from the community of Squamish – which is clearly envious of our trail system and looking for “insider information”!
As a community we’re lucky to have had many of our trails eked out of the forest by mining pioneers, over 100 years ago. The Railgrade, Wagon Road and Whiskey trails are all examples of old trails with steep histories - dating back to prohibition, the creation of Teck Cominco and the Chinese Gardens area in lower Rossland. Newer trails are being built all the time – thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Kootenay Columbia Trails Society, local volunteers, contractors and the Planning Department. Our community currently has at least 32 trails covering 170kms, including the Seven Summits Trail, an IMBA Epic Trail.
If you’re interested in learning more about trails in our area, there are a few great, local websites that you can take a look at. For mountain biking enthusiasts, check out www.bikerossland.ca. The Kootenay Columbia Trails Society website is www.kcts.ca . If you’d like a copy of the new trails map for the Rossland area, they can be purchased at the Chamber of Commerce and at Revolution Cycle. If you’d like a topographic map of the Nancy Green pass area, the Recreation Department has a good one that also shows the cabins.
Because we have such a great network of trails in our community, the Recreation Department has registered Rossland into a Provincial contest – the Healthy Families BC Walking Challenge. This is an online contest, similar to the one Rossland participated in for the Aviva Contest to support RSS. The Walking Challenge contest has individuals and communities across BC competing for great prizes by sharing favourite walking tips, mapping the best local routes, celebrating community and entering to win great prizes. It’s easy to get started! Log on to www.healthyfamiliesbcwalkingchallenge.ca and then click on the “Find Your Community” button. Click on the letter “R” and then select Rossland. Click on the “Create an Entry” button. Fill in the information about your favourite trail or a walk you’ve recently enjoyed and then check the “I have read and agreed to….” button before clicking the “Submit my Entry” button. Each time you “create an entry”, it counts as an entry in the draw, for both the individual who entered and the community the walk is associated with.
In each week of the contest, over 30 prizes from a random draw of participants who have entered at least one story, video, photograph or walking map onto the contest website will be awarded a prize. Over 200 prizes will be awarded, including bicycles, one-year family memberships to local recreation centres, and trips to exciting vacation destinations across BC. Your chances are better, the more stories you submit.
Here’s the exciting part for Rossland! The five communities with the most postings – one from each population size category - will win $10,000 to upgrade a local walking trail. One of the five winning communities will be selected by a random draw to win an additional $50,000! With the recent success of our online voting for the Aviva Grant – we could be serious contenders! As an added incentive to participate, the Recreation Department also has prizes to distribute – including pedometers, t-shirts, wallets and water bottles. If you use the same name to register each entry, we’ll award a weekly prize to the individual who has posted the most entries. We’ll keep the community updated and announce the winner each week.
There’s nothing limiting cyclists and runners from participating either. As long as the trail is “walkable” it can be submitted as an entry.
If you’re getting out there, getting your exercise, and you enjoy the trail system – create an entry for the contest! You’ll be entered into multiple opportunities to win some great prizes and you’ll have enjoyed some exercise. Happy walking!