About

History of Trails Groups in Armstrong/Spallumcheen

The earliest record of a trails group is 1994 but the first meeting was held even before that. It was in response to an advertisement placed in the local paper by the Armstrong/Spallumcheen Parks and Recreation Commission. One of the first projects was to plan out a system of trails through the Township of Spallumcheen and the City of Armstrong. They were known simply as “Trails”.

In 1996 the City of Armstrong authorized the creation of a Greenways Plan. A group comprised of a planner from the Regional District of the North Okanagan, a member from the Parks and Rec Commission and two people from Trails was formed to work on this project. The plan was adopted as part of the Official Community Plan. The first trail completed was along Meighan Creek from Meadow Creek Lane to Okanagan Street.

In 1996 Trails, renamed the Trails Committee, was an integral part of drawing up the Rose Swanson Sensitive Area document in conjunction with the Ministry of Forests and various user groups.

In 1997 the Trails Committee included members of the Spallumcheen Council. They began working with the Parks and Rec Commission on projects at Thomas Hayes Ecological Park and Rose Swanson Mountain as well as others. There were written descriptions of the role of the Trails Committee with Parks and Rec and both councils were included in the makeup of the Trails Committee. Budget requests were made to Parks and Rec.

In 1999, the creation of a Greenways Plan for Spallumcheen was suggested. The Trails Master Plan of 2001 was the result. However, shortly after this time, Parks and Rec underwent a big change and the forward momentum was never regained.

The next umbrella Trails worked under was Active Communities. They worked with Spallumcheen Council on a few projects including Phase 1 of the East Rosedale to McLeod Subdivision trail (the trail paralleling the highway from East Rosedale to Smith Dr.), the Scott Park Dock and with the City on the trail from Schubert Road to Highland Park. They also designed and printed three pamphlets to showcase each of the trail networks (Mt. Rose Swanson, Thomas Hayes and City walking trails). This group, too, gradually dissolved.

In the spring of 2014 a meeting was called to try to rejuvenate the Trails Committee by attracting interested people.  After several meetings and much discussion, the Armstrong/Spallumcheen Trails Society was formed in November 2014.

For our Bylaws and Constitution, please click here.

The 2022/2023 Board of Directors is as follows:

Executive

Directors at Large

• Andrej Arajs
• Bent Kristensen
• Glenn Gytenbeek
• Ken Chapman
• Ryan Sadler

To contact us, please send an email to: astrailssociety@gmail.com