Accessing the waterfront at Dugan Lake has become much easier thanks to the development of a new trail at the popular recreation site.

“The accessible trail head starts at the dock with really great signage and follows along the lake below all the camp sites,” said Cariboo Regional District director Joan Sorley. “When we officially opened the trail Friday, the park facilitator told us many people are coming out  just to walk the trail.”

The trail was built in partnership between the Williams Lake Indian Band, the CRD, Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT), Cariboo Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition (CCBAC) and the provincial government through the BC Community Recreation Program.

Approximately one kilometre long and featuring a packed, crushed gravel surface, the trail’s accessibility is being appreciated.

WLIB councillor Willie Sellars said they brought a group of Elders out to walk along the trail and they really appreciated the trail as well.

Dugan Lake is situated among rolling hills in a spruce-lodgepole pine forest, offers a BC Forest Service campsite and is a great spot for viewing wildlife.

An accessible dock on the low mobility trail also allows visitors to cast a line into this popular fishing lake.

The trail has a gentle grade with one steeper section. An accessible outhouse, accessible dock, three benches and a kiosk at the trailhead with information about the trail are also available for users’ convenience.

Sellars also described the trail as a perfect example of partnerships.

“Through these relationships we have delivered something that will help bolster the already growing trail network and contributes to more trails in the local area,” Sellars said. “Providing another tourism option will also further diversify our economy and give people more of a reason to visit our area, take in the views and experience the Cariboo.”

In 2006, the CRD board passed a resolution to work toward developing the Cariboo-Chilcotin as a world leader in accessible outdoor recreation and tap into niche tourism markets for persons of low mobility.

Other wheelchair accessible sites within the CRD include Tatlayoko, Kersley, Cottonwood Historic Site, 108 Mile/Sepa Lakes, Lac La Hache, Horsefly Salmon Spawning Trails, Gavin Lakeshore Trail, and most recently the 99 Mile Accessible Trail which was officially opened last fall. There are currently seven other accessible wilderness trails being developed by the CRD, some of which were funded through the Community Recreation Program.

For further information about the growing list of accessible trails within the Cariboo Regional District, visit the cariboord.ca and look under services/recreation.

Source: The Williams Lake Tribune