Upper Stoney Creek’s Eramosa Karst to test new trail system
Upper Stoney Creek's Eramosa Karst will be the testing ground for a new mapping system that hopes to make it easier for visitors to navigate and assess the walkability of trails at local conservation areas.
Matt Hall, director of capital projects for the Hamilton Conservation Authority, said the new maps draw on best practices elsewhere, Ontario accessibility standards and more than 100 responses to a recent two-week online public survey.
Local groups, including the Friends of Eramosa Karst, were also consulted, he said, prompting changes to some map symbols and addition of landmark features so users will know, for instance, if they are leaving or entering a forested area.
It was really amazing to me how many comments we did receive, how much interest there was from the public in general on this topic," Hall told members of the authority's conservation advisory committee at their April 14 online meeting.
The new maps include trail difficulty ratings, trail lengths and estimated hiking times, information on key geographic areas and points of interest and a simplified colour scheme to distinguish trails from other park features.
Hall said the authority plans to eventually roll out the new mapping system to other conservation areas, but chose the Eramosa Karst as a test site because staff and the public indicated the 109-hectare Mount Albion Road park is difficult to navigate.
They find the signs on site and the maps themselves on site confusing," he said.
Hall said visitors to the karst - renowned for rock formations, caves, sink holes, dry valleys and sinking streams - will be able to download a printable version of the map or access it on their mobile phone while they walk the area.
Local cave expert Marcus Buck helped provide information on the karst's features, he said, including the 344-metre-long Nexus Cave, the 10th longest in Ontario.
Hall said the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority collaborated on a slope analysis of local conservation area trails over two summers to help create the rating system, which ranges from wheelchair accessible to difficult.
Two of the karst's three main trails - the Meadows and Bobolink - are rated easy because they are generally flat, less than five kilometres long at 1.7 and 1.3 kilometres respectively, and require little or no trail experience or preparation.
The 2.3-kilometre Karst Features Trail is rated moderate because it has some steeper sections and obstacles, is less than 10 kilometres long, and users are recommended to have some experience and preparation."
Hall said map signs at the karst will be revised to reflect the new standard, and the authority will also be installing numbered posts at spots where main or minor connector trails meet that match numbered locations on the map.
Wherever you are on the trail system, if you come to a crossroads, you'll know exactly where you are by linking the two of those," he said. I'd say that's a big change for us."
Advisory board member Lydia Cartlidge said she looks forward to using the amazing map" and likes that it includes other areas that will eventually follow suit, like Felker's Falls and the Devil's Punchbowl.
I'm not very good at reading maps for other reasons," she said. This is really to my learning style. I know the Eramosa Karst really, really well, and I really appreciate how you've done it."
Her praise was echoed by Wayne Terryberry, who said he likes the difficulty ratings and recommended preparations.
At his suggestion, Hall agreed to revise the map to identify trails as recreational trails" to protect the authority from potential injury lawsuits.
Terryberry noted the province's Occupiers' Liability Act specifically limits liability for risks willingly assumed on recreational trails reasonably marked by notice as such."
STORY BEHIND THE STORY: We saw that the authority is planning to test a new mapping system at the Eramosa Karst and wanted to learn more.