Carving its way through the beautiful Kaposvar Creek valley, this loop serves up an exceptional tour of the local landscape just outside Esterhazy. The single-track path circles the edge of the valley slopes, guiding you beneath a lovely canopy of native birch and poplar forests. As you navigate the winding corridor, you will be treated to sweeping, elevated views of the rolling valley floor and the lush greens of the regional golf course below. The diverse habitats along the creek make it a fantastic sanctuary for wildlife, so you might be lucky enough to catch sight of white-tailed deer or spot local birds like the spectacular pileated woodpecker. The terrain presents an engaging layout featuring multiple turns and rolling elevation changes as you traverse the valley walls. While certain sections feature steeper ascents that require a bit of extra effort, the switchbacks are designed well to help you steadily power through the climbs. The route is highly versatile, making it an ideal option for an afternoon hike, a fast-paced trail run, or a classic mountain biking excursion. 

The Esterhazy Regional Park took ownership of a trail which was a collection of old road and bridges and paths cobbled together to form a loop around the Esterhazy Golf Course. Flooding and other unfortunate events left the trail in a state of disrepair. The trail fell into disuse and portions were abandoned due to landslide and human intervention.

 

The Park board decided to try and revive the trail and one of the board members took it on as a project. Quite by chance, a professional trail builder was in the area, working on mountain bike trails at the Ochapowace Ski Hill. An agreement was struck and the Builder, Bill Goulding of Sustainable Trails Ltd. of Ontario was contracted to do the build. The trail was laid out by the Park board member and he also cleared the corridor of the layout.

 

Initially, we had hoped the work would be accomplished last fall, but the window of opportunity was lost and we had to wait till this spring.

Some work is going on behind the scenes, but very shortly equipment will be on the ground and the trail will be built in May of 2016. Most likely started and finished. Ready for walking and biking and snowshoeing this winter.