The Bamfield Huu-ay-aht community forest society has built some walking trails in our forest, and this is something we could build more in the future. Do you use the existing trails around Bamfield and Anacla? Which ones are your favourite? What aspects do you like and dislike in a trail? Should we build more trails?
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I love the trails! I think the East/West Connector is my favourite.
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Love the trails we got and would be stoked to see more created. Some that are bikeable would be really great too!
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I love the trails and am grateful to have them. Not all are created equal, so I’ll provide some key principles that I think are important for Bamfield’s trails.
Overall, I think good trails should…
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be accessible (Access). This means they should be easy to walk for the bulk demographic of the population. Even better if they are multi-use and they can be used for trail running or beginner mountain biking. The first step in accessibility is design, followed by stewardship. It becomes easier to justify trail networks in a community when more community members are able to walk on them and if they are maintained by volunteers.
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lead somewhere (Destination). A good trail should have a destination to a landmark, such as a vista, notable tree(s), a creek/stream, or form a loop. Honorable mention to those shortcuts that allow walkers to avoid the road
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minimize impact (Impact). Trails allow us to enjoy the forest, while reducing our overall impact on the land. Low impact is beneficial for wildlife, forest understory and root systems etc. Low impact trails also flow well with the landscape, and avoid major alterations to land when possible. In some cases, previous impact from logging activities can offer a good starting point, such as old skidder trails that are already compacted and de-treed. Keep in mind that a well-built and desirable trail also keeps hikers from off-trail areas and avoids continuous re-routes.
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be pleasant to walk on (Pleasure). Have you ever walked a trail that felt too enclosed, or poorly laid out? Or walked through such dense salal that you lose your sense of direction? Hikers should spend less time looking at their feet to avoid tripping, and spend more time looking up and around at the trees and enjoy the views. Bonus points if trail building refuse such as cut logs, cut marks, soil pits, etc are removed from view of the trail. A pleasant trail is one that feels natural, not like a worksite.
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offer year-round access (Seasonality). A good year-round trail should be designed with good drainage and use materials to avoid muddy slips and falls. Trails that stay dry tend to traverse slopes, change directions frequently, and avoid drainages and long straight flat sections. Moisture is unavoidable here, but trails can be designed and maintained to reduce standing water using certain techniques or thoughtful trail infrastructure such as bog bridges etc
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I’d be curious to hear how our community would rate our trails using such criteria (score out of 5).
P.S. I love doing trail work so if anyone wants connect on that and has ideas on how to improve our existing trails, get in touch.
Some resources for trail building:
https://www.americantrails.org/resources/basic-elements-of-trail-design-and-trail-layout
https://assets.mtbtrailbuilding.com/resources/guides/TrailDesignFundamentalsGuide.html
https://parks-parcs.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/PCA_Trail-Principles_low-res.pdf
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