Tourism Squamish and the Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association (SORCA) have launched a summer campaign aimed at getting visitors to financially support the trails they ride.
The campaign, called For the Love of Trails, is paired with a newly signed memorandum of understanding between the two organizations focused on trail stewardship and visitor education.
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According to the news release, the campaign uses humour and creative storytelling drawn from Squamish’s mountain bike culture to communicate a straightforward message: world-class trails do not maintain themselves. Visitors will encounter the campaign at trailheads, local businesses, and on social media throughout the summer.
Tourism Squamish will match up to $10,000 in donations made through the campaign. Unlike most major visitor attractions, trail access in Squamish carries no user fee, making voluntary contributions the primary mechanism for visitor support.
“Volunteers and traditional funding alone can’t keep pace with growing trail maintenance demands,” SORCA executive director Ian Lowe said in the release. The organization’s board is pursuing longer-term funding solutions, with the Tourism Squamish partnership identified as one avenue.
According to the news release, the campaign is limited in scope to maintaining the existing trail network and is not intended to support trail expansion or new development.
Tourism Squamish executive director Lesley Weeks said the initiative reflects a broader organizational goal of ensuring tourism contributes positively to the community. “By helping tell the story behind the work required to maintain these world-class experiences, we’re encouraging visitors to contribute to the long-term health of the trail network and the community that supports it,” she said.
