South Okanagan

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Dennis Smith hopes to see new trail take shape

The idea of having a trail running from the lake to the Kettle Valley Rail Trail in Naramata has been discussed for years.

Now, Naramata Parks and Recreation is looking into making such a path, serving townspeople and visitors alike, a reality.

“The goal is for it to be a place to hike and walk dogs, and if you were ambitious you could walk down to the pub for supper or  down to the store for milk,” said Dennis Smith, chair of parks and recreation.

Currently hikers and cyclists already travel an unofficial trail that comes down from the KVR, runs along Naramata Creek and then through Creek Park.

The hope is to develop a trail from the village up to the park to connect the dots.

So far, community outreach has involved contacting landowners to let them know about the idea and communicating with the Naramata Centre, which owns land south of the creek.

The responses have been generally positive. People who live on the lower end have expressed concerns over vandalism, impact on salmon spawning areas and  privacy, if a trail were to run through their backyard.

There is no intent to direct walkers and hikers over people’s properties. Parks and  recreation is continuing to look at the best ways for people to walk from the village to the park, said RDOS Naramata Director Karla Kozakevich.

For now we need more feedback from the public and will probably do an open house, she said.

Meanwhile, Smith said he is working on defining a trail route. And there will be continued discussion on the matter at parks and recreation meetings.

“Our hope is to address concerns and move forward on developing a trail,” he said.