Lac la Hache is the latest community in the Cariboo-Chilcotin to develop a wheelchair-accessible trail.
The Lac la Hache Community Trail was built in partnership between the Cariboo Regional District (CRD), the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, Northern Development Initiative Trust, the Cariboo Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition and the Lac la Hache Community Club.
Says CRD chair Al Richmond: "This is the next step in making the Cariboo-Chilcotin one of the most attractive wheelchair-accessible tourism destinations in the world. Projects, such as the Lac la Hache Community Trail, show what can be accomplished through regional collaboration and commitment to improving the quality of life for residents and visitors of all abilities."
The 620-metre trail provides visitors picturesque views of Lac la Hache from several viewpoints. It starts from an expansive accessible shelter with picnic tables, and heads down to the lakeshore.
Lac la Hache Community Club president Larry McCrea says the club offers its thanks to everyone involved and invites the public to come and take a stroll along the lake.
When our government announced the $30-million Community Recreation Program, the Lac la Hache Community Trail was exactly the sort of project we had in mind, says Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett.
Janine North, Northern Development Initiative Trust CEO, says Northern Development is pleased to assist Lac la Hache and many other Cariboo communities expand their wheelchair-accessible tourism opportunities through its Community Halls and Recreation Facilities grant program.
The Cariboo Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition (CCBAC) funds projects like these where there are strong partnerships to help our region economically, environmentally and socially, says CCBAC chair Mayor Kerry Cook.
CRD trustees passed a resolution in 2006 to work towards developing the Cariboo-Chilcotin as a world leader in accessible outdoor recreation and tap into niche tourism markets for persons of low mobility. Other CRD wheelchair-accessible sites include Tatlayoko, Kersley's Sisters Creek Trail, Cottonwood Historic Site, Sepa Lake Accessible Trail and the Horsefly Salmon Spawning Trails.
There are currently 13 other accessible wilderness trails being developed by the CRD, some of which were funded through the Community Recreation Program.