What an exciting time in the mountain parks! The arrival of the first baby bison in Banff National Park, an ongoing strong spring ski season with excellent snow conditions and of course the very important announcements of enhanced transportation are all good news stories. I’d like to take a moment to congratulate Mayor Karen Sorensen at the Town of Banff, Town of Canmore, the ID9, Parks Canada, as well as the Bow Valley Regional Transit Commission and the many partners and stakeholders that have together worked so hard to bring about the new routes. It can’t be understated how important this new regional transit system and the parking availability that will connect the system is to provide visitors and locals the chance to leave their cars at home and Roam the mountain parks in a convenient, safe and environmentally friendly way. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of the process.

Sincerely,

Casey Peirce
Executive Director, AMPPE

This proposed multi-use trail would run parallel to the iconic Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park and is intended to meet the needs of a wide-range of users, cyclists, runners, cross country skiers and families that may wish to leave their cars behind so they can closer connect with the landscape in a safe and environmentally friendly way. 

The Icefields Trail North Support Coalition is a collaborative communication effort of tourism partners/ associations, user groups and recreational enthusiasts aimed at ensuring Canadians are aware of and have an opportunity to lend their voice to the Icefields Trail North project proposal. Organizations so far that have offered their voice of support for Coalition efforts include: Tourism Industry Association of Canada, Tourism Jasper, Association for Mountain Parks Protection & Enjoyment, Banff & Lake Louise Tourism, Tour of Alberta, Canada West Ski Areas Association and Banff & Lake Louise Hospitality Association.  

Collectively, the above organizations and their members represent literally ‘millions’ of touch-points to visitors on an annual basis. These organizations confirm that activities like hiking, biking and skiing are important and provide value to Canadians (and international visitors) and actively seek these opportunities as part of their national parks experience. To date, direct contact has been made and communication materials shared with over 100 recreational sport societies/clubs, sport festival/event organizers, bike shops and recreational sport enthusiasts/advocates.  

Given that some individuals and organizations have come out to publicly oppose the Icefields Trail project, the coalition believes it is important that there is a voice for those who support the project. The coalition’s aim is simple: to help engage Canadians to become familiar with and ‘support’ the Icefields Trail project by amplifying messaging and project details as presented by Parks Canada.  

Learn more about the proposed multi-use pathway at www.icefieldstrail.ca