Trail Talk
Bragg Creeks Trails Association has a celebrated history in Bragg Creek. Over the past 20 years, volunteers at BCT have stepped up to build much needed trail infrastructure in both Rocky View County as well as on the public lands inside Kananaskis Country to our west.
The catalyst to BCT’s beginnings back in 2004 was a need for trail connectivity that reached out from the Hamlet of Bragg Creek. Local trail visionaries saw the need to link up with Banded Peak School, Bragg Creek Provincial Park and also with the developing multi-use trail network in West Bragg Creek.
Today we enjoy paved trails that connect throughout the community providing a safe place to walk, run, bike and horseback ride. The West Bragg Creek Trail provides a feeder trail to the communities to west and is a vital stretch of the Trans Canada Trail. The recent paving has started to attract local athletes as they use the trail for dryland training and roller skiing.
Over the years BCT has raised over $3.6 million to build this section on the TCT from concept right through to completion. The Alberta Government, TCT Foundation, Rocky View Country and numerous private donors were instrumental in sharing our vision and helping “the Trail” become a reality. Without project champions in the first place, most of the community trails would never have happened. Former West Bragg Creeker Robert Sadee started the ball rolling even before BCT was incorporated and he then passed that ball to Eric Lloyd who continues to volunteer with BCT today, focussing on community trails.
All these trails radiating from the Bragg Creek Hamlet needed a hub. That hub is the new trailhead kiosk located in front of the Bragg Creek Community Centre. This beautiful timber frame structure built by Norwood Homes was a collaboration between BCT and the Bragg Creek Chamber of Commerce. Generous funding for the structure and the information panel content which includes indigenous perspectives was also provided by the TCT Foundation. This is a great stop or starting point for anyone looking for local or regional information on trail options for their next outing.
Help BCT to celebrate 20 years of trail stewardship in the community by volunteering on one of our many projects that occur year round. It’s as easy as going to braggcreektrails.org.
See you on the trails
Conrad Schiebel (BCT President)
