Kootenay bike trail development gets funding bump

Trail building in the hills near Nelson, B.C. got another boost this week, as it was announced that The Regional District of Central Kootenay will receive more funds for the recreational trail project at Morning Mountain.

The funds — amounting to $62,700 — were granted by The Trans Canada Trail.

Trails at Morning Mountain have been under development by the Nelson Cycling Club, the project’s stewards, in partnership with both the Regional District of Central Kootenay and Recreation and Trails BC. Already, the Trans Canada Trail has adopted two of those trails: Bottoms Up and Upper Bottoms, adding them to the existing network of the Trail itself. As such, about $12,000 of the allocated funds, the Nelson Star reported, will be earmarked for the completion of the Upper Bottoms trail.

As for the rest of the funding, much of it, reports say, will be spent on the addition of a new, 4.5 km trail that cyclists can ride in either direction, connecting Morning Mountain with the Trans Canada Trail routing. The preliminary layout of the trail — intended to connect Upper Bottoms with the Giveout Creek forest service road — is currently underway, Nelson Cycling Club representative Joel Burney said, with plans to start building this fall.

“We anticipate using a small machine,” Burney told the Nelson Star, “so a footprint of 36 to 48 inches (90 to 120 cm) wide with a hand crew shaping it and detailing it to a smooth finished product, doable for all skill levels.”

The end product is intended to be an accessible, expansive trail network for trail riders, eventually leading to Cottonwood Lake Regional Park and the Nelson-Salmo Great Northern Trail.