Dave Adams, head groomer of the Sir John A. Macdonald winter trail, is tasked with maintaining the route, which spans 16 kilometres along the Ottawa River. The eastern portion of the trail is shown in the map below. Jolson Lim, Centretown NewsThe initiative that brought Ottawa residents a groomed urban trail for two weekends last winter will soon be returning to the Ottawa River shoreline. But this time, the snow-covered path for cross-country skiers, walkers and bikers will be groomed for the entire winter season.
The Sir John A. Macdonald Winter Trail is set to span the 16-kilometre distance between the Canadian War Museum and Dominion Station in Westboro. It will follow the present Ottawa River Pathway, near the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway.
Points along the trail include Westboro Beach, Lemieux Island crossing and the Prince of Wales train bridge. The trail will be groomed right up to the back doors of the war museum.
Stephen Quick, director general of the museum, said he’s excited about the opportunity to be a part of the project.
“The interesting thing is people can come and park, put on their skis, go do the entire trail, come back and have a hot chocolate.” Along with using the museum’s café, he said, trail-goers could also check out exhibitions after a long day in the cold weather.
The trail is part of the NCC’s plan to have a four-season park experience along the Ottawa River, but the iniative is mainly a grassroots project.
The Westboro Beach Community Association was on board from the beginning with the pilot project that occurred last year. But since then, the Dovercourt Recreation Association has also been involved in formalizing the trail.
Steve Nason, senior director of programs at the recreation association, said urban ski trails are common in places like Oslo, Norway. Ottawa, he said, is a great host for this kind of project because of its abundant snowfall and available land along the river. But he added that this is mostly feasible because of local trail-grooming talent in the area.
“Most communities don’t have a professional snow groomer who lives in their community,” he said.
Dave Adams is the head groomer of the project, and has forged trails for Canada’s largest cross-country ski club, Nakkertok Nordic, located in Gatineau.
He was approached by the Westboro Beach Community Association to set the trails for the pilot that took place earlier this year, in late February.
“It was really successful, our numbers were extremely strong,” said Adams. During the debut season’s second weekend of grooming, 216 individuals were spotted on the trails in just one hour. Typically, he said, “The multi-use pathway does not see that kind of traffic in the dead of winter.”
The majority of trail users this past winter were skiers who glided along the groves in the freshly compacted snow. He thought that many of them looked like beginners, perhaps even strapping on a set of skis for the first time.
“Because the trail was free and accessible, people actually considered the sport of cross-country skiing. I was really happy to see that,” said Adams.
Walkers, snowshoers and winter bicyclists also joined in on the fun.
But he noted that running the pilot “wasn’t easy,” mainly because the grooming equipment had to be transported from Gatineau to the trail site.
This winter, Adams will operate a groomer that was specifically purchased for the project.
“From my point of view, it is a serious grooming operation. I’m not going out on the trail and dragging two-by-fours behind my snow shoes,” he said.
Leiper’s office made a $2,500 contribution for the down payment on the grooming machine.
Adams said the cost of the project would be just under $50,000. Government grants, corporate sponsors and community donors are expected to finance the operation. He said each of those categories of donation should cover about one-third of the costs.
As of Oct. 23, more than $14,000 had been raised on a crowdfunding site. Organizers are hoping to raise $20,000.
“There is no better way to demonstrate that there is something to value than making a financial contribution. I think that speaks volumes,” said Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper.
“It’s wonderful to have a recreational cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, walking and fat bike trail that many people can access on foot or by transit,” added Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney, who plans to use the trail herself.