The 11th East Coast Trail Tely Hike

MORE Trail, Views, Hiking

Trail Maintenance, Restoration and Development Goals for 2011-2012

The East Coast Trail Association (ECTA) plans to:

• Complete the trail from Pouch Cove to Cape St. Francis by August 2011.
• Complete the trail planning and layout work from Cape St. Francis to Bauline by August 2011.
• Begin construction of the trail from Cape St. Francis to Bauline in September 2011, conditional on funding.
• Continue to maintain the 260 km of developed trail.
• Address the requirement to rebuild (restore) the trail bed and replace trail structures, based on need and priority, between Fort Amherst and Cappahayden.

Securing 10% of what is needed

Funding will be requested from our government stakeholders, with the Association responsible for securing at least 10% of the total project amount. In addition, the ECTA is responsible for maintaining the developed trails. With your help in 2011 we will raise $100,000.

The funds raised by this event will be invested directly into the Trail Infrastructure and will support the goals identified above. The $100,000 we are seeking will provide us with the financial support we need to request additional funding from our government stakeholders.

Fast Facts

The East Coast Trail is managed by the award winning East Coast Trail Association. The ECTA is a volunteer, membership based, not-for-profit charity formed in 1994 with the mission to develop, maintain and preserve the Trail.

Mission Statement: Develop, maintain and preserve the East Coast Trail, while respecting the integrity of the environment, the needs of our communities, and delivering a quality hiking experience.

ECTA promotes healthy living, relaxation, enhanced well-being, employment, economic and tourism growth for the thirty communities located on the Trail, their residents and visitors. ECTA also promotes respect for the environment and protection of our coastal lands and ecosystems. The scenery, accessibility and diverse nature of our coastal hiking trails make the East Coast Trail a destination for the tourism industry, and a heart-healthy attraction for people of all ages, fitness levels and income brackets. The Trail is making a significant social, economic and environmental contribution to our province.

The East Coast Trail is aworld class attraction, a unique and appealing destination offering outstanding natural beauty and wildlife, location, history, culture and geology.

The Trail

• The Trail is located on the Avalon Peninsula; in 2010 National Geographic selected the Avalon as the No. 1 coastal destination in the world.
• The 540 km East Coast Trail includes 420 km of coastal trails running along the eastern edge of the Avalon from Topsail Beach to Trepassey, and 120 km of inland wilderness trails extending from Ferryland across the Avalon to Placentia.
• 260 km of the 420 km coastal trail are fully developed and are continually maintained. The trail is developed from Cappahayden to Pouch Cove, with the section between Pouch Cove to Cape St. Francis scheduled for completion this year. Our current development plans focus on completing the trail sections between Cape St. Francis to Topsail Beach, conditional on funding.

Tourism and the Community

• ECTA has moved the Trail in seventeen years, together with our community, provincial and federal partners, from a promising concept to a valuable piece of tourism & recreational infrastructure.
• The Provincial Tourism Product Development Strategy recognizes the Trail as a destination hiking trail, a trail that is generating travel to the province for both dedicated hikers and other tourists.
• The East Coast Trail has been highly praised as a top tourist destination by the Travel media, including: Explore Magazine, Grades Espacios, Cottage Living, Canadian Geographic, Equinox, CNN, Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen, the Readers Digest, the LA Times, and the New York Daily News.
• Stakeholders see the Trail as an investment opportunity to strategically connect existing and new tourism infrastructure, attractions, events, activities and communities throughout the region.
• The Integrated Community Sustainability Plans, completed by the communities of the Southern Avalon and Northeast Avalon in 2010, identified ECTA a value-added partner in the community economic development process and an important pillar for the future development of their communities.
• The economic value generated by the Trail was measured by 2004 Knight Study. It states: The Trail is a significant trip generator to the province and is generating significant economic impact.
• A key measure of the Trail's success is hiker visitation. The Knight Study identified that 21,500 resident and 5,000 non-residents hiked the trail in 2004, and the forecast visitation for 2011 is 56,992 hiker visits.

Our Volunteers

• ECTA continues to generate a significant amount of social capital. Our members & volunteers continue to contribute their time and their expertise, and have proven their resourcefulness and long-term commitment to the Trail, e.g., our volunteers lead over 50 organized hikes for the general public each year.
• Our volunteers are the backbone of ECTA and their annual investment of time and expertise will ensure the continued success of the East Coast Trail.

"We have traveled as far as New Zealand to find exceptional hiking experiences only to find places, such as the East Coast Trail, within Canada, to match anything the world has to offer." -Hiker of the East Coast Trail

***The East Coast Trail Association is a registered charity BN#899356364 RR0001. Charitable Donation receipts will be issued as per the Canada Revenue Agency rules.