New section of Trans Canada Trail opens in Cranbrook

A new section of the Trans Canada Trail opens today and brings the cross-Canada project network to completion.

Al Skucas, director of the B.C. Trails society, said the brand new trail is 43.5 kilometres from Cranbrook to Wardner. It's largely a gravel trail with parts of it, converted rail.

"We have the rail trail sections which are about three metres of width and we have thisnew single track, 1.3 metre width of trail here. So it offers a variety of riding experiences, especially for cyclists," he explained.

The grade of the rail trail is less than one per cent, but the winding trails near Mayook are a bit steeper across the bottom of Mount Baker.

Nevertheless, Skucas says the section is still very accessible.

"We built the trail with specifications in mind so that it would be still appealing even to families and fit seniors as well," he said.

Years in the making

The Trans Canada trail project dubbed the Great Trail was originally conceived of in 1992, Canada's 125th anniversary of confederation.

The intention was to connect the country's multi-use recreational trails into a 24,000-kilometre route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and north to the Arctic Ocean, connecting every province and territory by Canada's 150th anniversary.

Some critics have said the trail is far from complete and not particularly safe.

• READ MORE: It's dangerous to call the Trans Canada Trail complete, says cyclist

Skucas concurred there are gaps in the trail. While the trail network west of Castlegar is very well built, there are fewer trails towards the east.

"When you're talking very remote sections of the country, unless you have a dedicated support team, it's really hard to maintain a trail in those isolated locations," he explained.

With files from Daybreak South