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On Saturday morning, September 19, volunteers met at the Hidden Valley Highlands Ski Area (HVHSA) parking lot to collect rakes, pick axes, shovels, and hoes, eager to get the trail building underway.<\/p>\n
“This is amazing\u2014a great turnout,” said Buck Miller, president of the Huntsville Mountain Bike Association (HMBA), smiling as he watched the first group of volunteers climb the steep front face of the Dutchman ski run, towards the multi-use trails they\u2019d spend the day digging out by hand.<\/p>\n
On August 24, Huntsville Council unanimously approved the initiative of the joint partnership between Hidden Valley Highlands Ski Area, the Town of Huntsville, and the HMBA to develop a multi-use trail system.<\/p>\n
HMBA volunteers are building and maintaining the trails on HVHSA property, which will include roughly eight kilometres of beginner and intermediate level trails, open from May 1 to October 31. No membership with HMBA or the ski hill will be required, and there will be no fees to residents, the public, or visitors.<\/p>\n
“The [HMBA] Board has been in here working for the past month. We\u2019ve got it all flagged, and there are some areas that are actually dug up and cut out,” said Miller. “We wanted to get a head start before we invited everyone out here to get going with hand tools.”<\/p>\n
Miller was thankful for the help the HMBA has received from the local community. “Near North Log Homes donated roughly $1,000 in lumber for bridges,” he said. “We’re a non-profit and we rely on the generosity of Muskoka-based businesses to help keep us going. Every dollar we raise goes back into the trails at Hidden Valley ski hill and Echo Valley Nature and Bike Trails.”<\/p>\n
Asked about the progress on the trails and when they might be ready, Miller had a positive attitude. “Initially, we thought if we had the green light by June or July, we could have had a grand opening in the fall, but now it looks like it will be in the spring [of 2021],” he said. “But that\u2019s okay. It gives us more time to prepare.”<\/p>\n
Miller said there will be at least one more trail building day in October, and possibly one in November. “Our intermediate loop is pretty good. We\u2019re hoping to have the beginner loop started between now and the next build day. In the meantime, we\u2019ll be continuing the work as an association.”<\/p>\n
“All the [HMBA] Board members have worked really hard, donating their time, and growing the momentum for this,” said Kristi MacDonald of The Bike Shop in Huntsville. “Without them, this never would have happened.”<\/p>\n
Board members Jeff Punkari, Luke Howell, Graham Henderson, and Adam Galt were on hand to lead volunteers out to the many different areas of the trails, where they worked in small groups, digging out the paths, raking, and building bridges.<\/p>\n\n\t\t