The Ravenna General store has reopened as the Ravenna Country Market. In addition to their baked goods, they will now offer hot dishes prepared fresh by a chef onsite. They are also featuring more local produce and products. Trail maps will be available there as well as at Little Ed's and the Georgian Triangle Tourist Information Centre - both located in Collingwood. See the Maps page for more information.

Kolapore Meeting � Sat. May 2, 2009

The 2009 annual meeting of the Kolapore Trails was held on Saturday May 2. It was decided to proceed with the establishment of a new organization to manage the Kolapore trails - see below. If you would like to be involved in the reforms send an e-mail. The intention is to hold a well-advertised public meeting in the fall to review and finalize the proposals.

New Kolapore Trails Organization
The Kolapore trails have been operated for many years by a small committee with an informal structure. It is becoming apparent that this structure will not be adequate to address the increasing management challenges (year-round management, risk management, increased fund raising, etc.) As a result, a review has being started that will develop a new organizational structure including a constitution. The discussions will continue over the coming months.
There are a variety of questions that we need to consider in our review. For example, should a new organization strictly focus on trail management, or should it have a broader role supporting the ongoing conservation of the Kolapore Uplands?

Any new organization should probably seek to manage the trails on a year-round basis. This involves more work, and would involve finding volunteers who will participate in non-winter management.

If you are interested in being involved in the review, please send an e-mail to trails at kolaporeuplands.org. We will post information on the review here, and we will send information to trail supporters who have previously indicated an interest in the review.

Donation Box

A secure metal container for cash donations has been installed at the north entrance parking lot. Please use this donation box to show your support for the trails. Donations are essential to the survival of the trails.

Trails Update (January, 2009)
All trails were cleared in fall 2008, but a heavy wet snowfall on November 15 brought down many branches, and bent countless saplings onto the trail. We were making substantial progress on cleaning up this damage, when we were hit with a major windstorm on December 27 � 28 that brought down a large number of trees and many branches. We are reclearing the trails as quickly as possible, given the small number of volunteers. Please help by removing fallen branches where possible, or we would welcome more volunteers for formal work parties. More caution is required than usual when skiing the trails, because there may be a tree down across the next run!

John�s Portage between 12 and 13 will be closed for the coming winter, because beaver activity has resulted in substantial flooding on the trail. Water is flowing across the trail � don�t try to ski this section. We will consider next year whether a boardwalk is desirable, but this would need to be over 100 feet long, and would be quite expensive. The segment of County Forest between 4 and 51 is closed because of flooding � we may be able to reopen this later in the winter.

A number of the trails are very wet (e.g., Quiet Pastures and Southern Crossing), and will require a good freeze to make them skiable. We have given this type of warning before, and then been pleasantly surprised by the conditions. We are much less optimistic this year, particularly after the heavy rains in late December.

We have an engineer�s plan for a new bridge on Paradise Highway between 54 and 16, but we do not yet have the necessary approvals for construction. We hope to build this bridge next August. In the interim, we are praying that the beaver dam will stay low enough that we don�t have a flooding problem this winter.

Logging in 2007 left a number of trails in Marc�s Folly very badly rutted. In fall 2008 most of the rutted areas were graded, and the trails should be in reasonable condition.

Fall Deer Hunting Season Extended
The local deer hunting season now includes Saturday. Because of the large numbers of hunters in the area, we strongly recommend that you not use the trails in the deer hunting season, which runs from Monday November 2 through Saturday November 7 in 2009. (Most of the Kolapore trails are located on public lands, and hunting is permitted on all of these lands with the exception of the Duncan Nature Reserve on Northwest Passage .)

Trail Map
The most recent edition (the 24th) of the Kolapore trail map was released in late 2006. There are many minor changes and corrections. The only substantial change is the removal of two trail segments in Labyrinth, due to their use as part of a snowmobile trail. The only recent trail change not shown on the map is the temporary closure of John�s Portage between intersections 12 and 13.

The price of the trail map remains at $5.00. All proceeds from map sales go to support the trails. Trail maps are available from the Georgian Triangle Tourist Information Center at 30 Mountain Road (the west end of Collingwood)and at Little Ed's Ski and Bike Shop at 175 Front Street in Collingwood. Some of these outlets sell the map at a higher price to cover their costs. Trail maps are also available by mail order – see the MAPS section.

Parking

A new public parking lot has been developed at Metcalfe Rock (on the 10th line), and there is an access trail to Metcalfe Rock, the Bruce Trail and the Kolapore trails. We do not know if this parking lot will be plowed this winter � we will provide updated information as the winter progresses.

“No parking” and “no stopping” signs have been posted on the 6th sideroad at the north edge of Marc’s Folly. Please do not park here at any time.

Accommodation
A three bedroom apartment with living room and kitchen is available for rent on a 169 acre farm which abuts the southeast entrance to the trails (County Forest area). Sleeps 11. Located on Grey Rd #2. It's a short ski from the farm to the Kolapore trail head. Available for the season, weekly, or weekend. Great opportunities for snowshoeing on the farm and adjacent public lands. Wake up to a beautiful, scenic vista of a million diamonds sparkling on the snowy pastures and wildlife framed by snowladen forests. Call Kevin Bell, tel.: 416 326-2337; e-mail: [email protected]