Kolapore wilderness trails

With the good snowfall we've received over the past few days, and more expected, we hope that the ski season will start soon.  Please don't walk on the trails now that ski season is imminent. 

A full colour publication celebrating the Kolapore Trails 50th Anniversary has just been released.  It has been mailed to all current members, and will be sent to all new members.  The content includes lots of photos, a short summary of the history of the trails, "memorable moments" stories, reproductions of early maps, origins of the trail names, the arrival of mountain biking, natural heritage of the area, and thoughts about the next 50 years.

Thanks to Collingwood Today for this great article on the 50th Anniversary of the Kolapore Wilderness Trails!

The Kolapore Wilderness Trails network is turning 50 years old this year! As we celebrate together, we'd love to collect photos and stories of your Kolapore adventures and misadventures. 

We've created Dropbox upload links for each decade. If you don't know the vintage of your photos, that's fine - just submit them to the General upload.

If you can, please include some information about your photos. Give your photos meaningful filenames or upload a separate document with captions. Or just let your photos speak for themselves!

We'd also love to receive your favourite stories and memories of Kolapore in Word, text or PDF format. Do you remember your first visit? Why do you keep coming back? What's your favourite thing about Kolapore? Did you ever get lost or break a ski pole? Fall off your bike into a creek? It's OK - you're among friends here.

Note that submitted materials may be shared on Kolapore Wilderness Trails social media, on our website, in a slide show or in a 50th Anniversary publication so please only share your photos and stories that you're willing to let us share with others. Thank you for being part of the celebration!

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Please click on a link to submit your photos.

2020s Kolapore Trails Photos and Stories

2010s Kolapore Trails Photos and Stories

2000s Kolapore Trails Photos and Stories

1990s Kolapore Trails Photos and Stories

1980s Kolapore Trails Photos and Stories

1970s Kolapore Trails Photos and Stories

General Kolapore Trails Photos and Stories

The Kolapore Wilderness Trails Association has been able to find a commercial plowing contractor to clear the main Kolapore parking lot for this winter.  This will be moderately expensive, so we need continued support from members and trail users to be able to pay for this service.  We understand that Grey County has arranged a plowing contractor for the new parking lot at the east end of the County Forest trails, just west of Grey Road 2.  There will be ongoing updates about plowing on the Trail Conditions page.

It is with the deepest possible sadness that we share with the community the recent passing of our dear friend and fellow trail builder, Kevin Walsh. Kevin was a Kolapore-area resident, Kolapore volunteer, Kolapore Wilderness Trails Association Board member, and a keen Kolapore skier and biker.

A gofundme campaign has been started by Kevin's friends to support Lisa, Polly and Lea.  https://www.gofundme.com/f/kevin-walsh-memorial-fund?qid=c7640991900c63c783758b1e95ba371c

The Kolapore Wilderness Trails Association was advised January 17 that logging has been completed in the County Forest, and that the trails can be reopened.

Kolapore volunteers have done an assessment of trail conditions and some trail cleanup, but more will be needed in the spring.  Trails east of 6 and 7 were unaffected by the logging.  Although there was quite a bit of rutting by logging equipment, in most sections of the trail the snow has smoothed out the ruts.  Between 4 and 5 some skiers may prefer the lower, flatter, informal trail. Remediation work will be required in the spring to permanently fix the ruts. 

During the logging, a number of intersection signs and numbers were removed, and won't be reinstalled until the spring.  Temporary numbers will be installed at key intersections.

Just before Christmas, the farmer who has done snowblowing in our parking lots for several years advised the Association that he wouldn't be able to do it this winter because of the cost of liability insurance.  Since then the Association's Board has been looking for solutions.  We haven't found any long term solutions yet.  We obtained one quote but the price was unaffordable.  In the short term a Kolapore volunteer will be doing some plowing in the Kolapore parking lot on Grey Road 2.  We had been expecting to organize snow removal at the Metcalfe Rock parking lot on the 10th Line, but this is unlikely to happen.

The Association is continuing to look for snow removal services that we can afford in the longer term.  Any suggestions would be welcome.  Send them to info@kolaporetrails.org    

The County Forest trails are still closed to public use because of active logging.  The logging operations are currently (Jan 10) winding up, so we hope that the trails will be reopened in the near future.  However, the logging equipment has left significant ruts on some of the Kolapore Trails, and these areas will require a lot of snow to have decent skiing conditions.  We will be working with the County to encourage trail rehabilitation in the spring.