Trails. They are what have brought so many of us to Squamish.
Be it walking our dogs, hiking to the nearest crag, going for a jog or riding our bikes, trails are where more than 75 per cent of us spend our leisure time.
Trails are Squamish’s largest recreational asset in terms of sheer volume, local participation rates and economic benefit. Trails bring nearly $10 million of annual spending to town from visiting mountain bikers, according to a recent economic impact study conducted by the Western Mountain Bike Tourism Association.
Trails are integrated into many aspects of life and business in town. Tourism Squamish promotes our trails, real estate agents and developers advertise them, bike industry companies move here to be close to them, and tourists stay in our hotels, eat at our restaurants and drink at our pubs because of them.
In fact, overnight visitors from out of town have gone up 483 per cent since 2006. These visiting riders contribute $3.4 million in wages to support local jobs.
Economics aside, we also know how important the trails are to the hearts and souls of the people in this town. So important, in fact, that The Squamish Chief has decided to grant SORCA, a local mountain bike association, this new monthly column to talk trails and mountain biking with you all.
The Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association (SORCA) has been around for 26 years now. What started out as a fringe sport, and a handful of folks who liked to drink beer and ride bikes together, has become a community of mountain bikers 1,700 strong.
You might be familiar with the Social Rides and Cinco Races (formerly Toonies). You might have been to a party or two hosted by one of our awesome local sponsors. But you may not have known that SORCA volunteers and trail crew are the ones keeping most of your favourite trails around town safe and smooth for all users.
Though the District of Squamish maintains a handful of trails in town, the vast majority of the 300-plus trails from Crumpit Woods to Brackendale are maintained by a variety of not-for-profit and volunteer groups. In addition to SORCA, the contributions of the Squamish Trails Society (STS), the Squamish Dirt Bike Association (SDBA) and the Squamish Access Society (SAS) are integral as well. Many of the trails in our town are multi use, and keeping them in good working order benefits all user groups.
What is trail maintenance? Well, it’s a lot of things. It’s fixing broken bridges. It’s improving drainage so that water doesn’t run down and erode the trail, and resurfacing trails where it has. It’s cutting back brush that will eventually make trails impassible and removing hazards in fall zones so that users don’t get hurt if they fall off their bike, horse or feet.
Why is this important? Many of your favourite classic trails were hand-built by volunteers. Back when a couple hundred people rode these trails, maintenance wasn’t as big an issue. Now that there are thousands of people riding them each year, they require regular upkeep – more than one or two volunteers can provide. Maintenance keeps these trails safe and fun to ride, helping Squamish retain its reputation as a world class mountain bike destination for both visitors and those who live here.
SORCA’s trail crew works year-round to ensure that popular trails are kept up to snuff. That said, we rely on our dedicated community of volunteers for a lot of things – from quick fixes removing downed trees across trails, to those who can volunteer their machine time and expertise for bigger overhauls.
So, the next time you get out and ride your bike – or take the dog for a walk – don’t forget the wonderful volunteers who’ve made your great experience possible. Stay tuned for future columns profiling some of the amazing individuals who have made our trail community what it is today.
