Upgrades on trails 22 and 34 in Gatineau Park

 

Gatineau Park is a protected area designated under Quebec's Natural Heritage Conservation Act (National Capital Commission Parks category). To ensure that the Park offers visitors a safe and sustainable trail network while also facilitating maintenance and reducing their environmental impact, it is often necessary to make modifications to the trails (new design, modifications to the surface of circulation, rerouting, installation of infrastructure, etc.). Among these changes, the 2021 Gatineau Park Master Plan prioritises the conversion of trails to allow year-round use and the reduction of environmental impacts associated with the use of unofficial trails by hikers outside the designated season. Trails 22 and 34 are two trails that are currently intended for winter use only and will be modified to allow access during the summer.

 

With the new modifications, trail 22 will become accessible during the summer to hikers and mountain bikers. A link with the Camp Fortune and GRS mountain bike trail network is planned. Currently, the existing trail 22 passes through a large wetland and a watercourse. This poses safety issues for users, as well as for the environment. To allow access to the trail during the summer, the path needs to be modified to create an official trail that minimizes encroachment in wetlands as much as possible. Along with the relocation of trail 22, it will also be necessary to replace the existing footbridge with a new one. The section of the footbridge that crosses the watercourse will be installed outside the high water mark to minimize disturbance to sensitive riparian habitat.

 

Trail 34, which is also currently only accessible during the winter, will be modified such that hikers will have summer access. The trail is 1.9 km long and crosses a few streams and wetlands that make it impassable in summer and represent a safety risk for the public and the environment. Like trail 22, the trail will be modified to ensure the safety of hikers and to protect sensitive natural environments.

 

The modifications to the trails will be undertaken to ensure that the paths can be used for their intended purpose, while protecting the surrounding environment. Once the work is completed, access to the old trails will be closed and the paths will be renaturalized. The work is planned for the summer of 2022.

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Latest update

March 22, 2022 – The public comment period on the project is closed.The National Capital Commission issued its Notice of Determination and determined that the project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

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Contacts

National Capital Commission
Environmental Assessment
40 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5A8
Email: IA-EI@ncc-ccn.ca


  • Location

    • Gatineau Park (Quebec)

  • Nature of Activity

    • Recreation and Tourism

  • Assessment Status

    Completed

  • Start Date

    2022-06-01

  • Proponent

    National Capital Commission

  • Authorities

    • National Capital Commission

  • Assessment Type

    Project on federal lands

  • Reference Number

    83351
Disclaimer

This map is for illustrative purposes. The markers represent the approximate locations based on available data. More than one marker may be identified for a given assessment.

 

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...within 200 kilometres
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