The National Capital Commission is now charging fees for snowshoeing in Gatineau Park, which has annoyed some Ottawa snowshoers.
Gatineau Park has more than 55 kilometres of snowshoe trails, according to the NCC. While cross-country skiers already had to pay to use the park, the snowshoe fees are new.
Mike Brown, snowshoeing co-ordinator at the Ottawa Outdoor Club, says he was “surprised frankly and a bit disappointed” when he first heard about the fees.
The NCC now charges $7 for an individual snowshoeing day pass and $17 for a family day pass at Gatineau Park. An adult season pass costs $50.
In an email interview, Jasmine Leduc, communications officer at the NCC, said the new fees are partially for equity reasons, since skiers already pay a fee. In addition, the costs of preparing and patrolling the trails, creating new ones and other costs associated with running the park contribute to the necessity of the fees.
Since 2012, the park’s snowshoe trail network has increased from 15 kilometres to 57 kilometres, she added.
Greg Boyle, manager at the Excursion Shoppe on Sparks Street, says no one has specifically said the new fees will discourage them from visiting Gatineau Park. The fees annoy many snowshoers he has spoken to, but he says most understand why the new fees are necessary.
Brown, a regular snowshoer at Gatineau Park for the past four years, says he feels the fees are “not justified.” In his experience, the only improvements he’s seen at the park are some “really short and simple trails.”
Revenues from the fees will go toward “the use and improvement of services for winter trails in Gatineau Park,” Leduc says. This includes preparing and grooming trails, snow plowing, rest areas and more.
Brown says it is hard to say whether the new fees have affected attendance or willingness to snowshoe in the park because the snowshoeing season has just started, due to the inconsistent weather in December.
“But now we are putting on our website that fees will be applicable,” he says. “So it may be discouraging some people.”
From Oct. 22 to Jan. 8, the NCC sold 808 seasonal snowshoeing passes and 7,141 cross-country skiing passes.