CENTRAL MANITOULIN – A new 10-car parking lot on municipal property on Thorne Street is being constructed along with a new trailhead entrance at the corner of Forest and Thorne streets in Mindemoya. The new trailhead will be to the south of the seasonal creek that runs through the park.
Putting a new trailhead to the south of the creek makes the park more accessible to all users, noted coordinator Marcus Mohr, who pointed out the current trailhead has to cross the creek bed. He said that the seasonal creekbed has long been a barrier to enhancement and promotion of the park, going on to note that a bridge that would cover the creek and its seasonal floodplain was deemed impractical and cost prohibitive.
Mr. Mohr noted in a release that phase one of enhancement was carefully planned out by the Central Manitoulin Trail Committee and is slated to start in the summer of 2021. The new trail will see 485 metres (1,591 feet) of hard-packed trail at an average of 1.5 metres (five feet) wide, one hub, three major pull-offs for passing and resting, as well as a turnaround at the end of the trail. The hard-packed trail section, with minimal slopes, will be ideal for people with mobility issues, mobility devices and families with strollers.
“The municipality would like to thank Wayne Legge of Manitoulin Chrysler for the new trailhead entrance easement,” said Mr. Mohr in the release. The municipality is working towards a severance of the south part of the lot an easement for the trail is on, which there are plans to donate to the municipality and will be added to the park. “Wayne and the municipality have been working together for a while to make the new trailhead and accessibility trail section a reality. We all realize the park is such an underutilized natural asset that benefits the whole Central Manitoulin community and visitors alike. It’s also really nice to see a good balance between local business, the economy and the environment.”
The municipal 42-acre park will provide recreational opportunities which encourage healthy lifestyles and thus enhance the quality of life within the community. In the future, the new hub that is 400 feet in from the new trailhead will branch off to different future trails, including a creek bed fossil walk and a highly anticipated escarpment trail that goes up to the bulk of the park, which is about two-thirds of the 42-acre park above the cliff face. This new trail will offer some views and new adventure opportunities for Wagg’s Wood. “Most people don’t realize how big the park really is because the traditional beaten path trail that most of us use is below the escarpment. All of this new enhancement planning really wouldn’t have been possible without the new trailhead location and we thank Wayne for that.”
The trail committee has volunteer opportunities available for upcoming work.
