Bridging Washington and Redstone: Rossland's newest trail is completed
By Andrew Zwicker
If you’ve ever wanted to wander in the woods or stroll along Rossland’s premier stream in the past you may well have been up Trail Creek without a paddle…er, trail. Since the completion of the tentatively-named Trail Creek Trail residents and dogs alike from the surrounding neighbourhoods have been enjoying the scenic wilderness stroll.
Winding its way through city-owned property running from the Washington Street to the undeveloped section of Victoria Street in Lower Rossland, the new trail provides a meandering mile (or two) of scenic walking, biking, jogging or cross country skiing through a scenic river gully. With the pedestrian bridge now in place, the full length of the trail is now walkable–from Washington Street to Redstone.
As the third completed trail from the City’s Active Transportation plan (The Star Gulch Trail being the first and the Museum to Miners Hall route the second), the Trail Creek Trail may just be the jewel in the expanding trail network’s crown.
Earlier in Rossland’s history, Trail Creek was the de facto sewage system for Rossland and Warfield with remnants of outflow lines still visible further down the creek near Upper Annabelle. The beauty of the river ravine may lie as much in the natural reclamation work Mother Nature has done to the watercourse and surrounding riparian zones as much as it does in the hundreds of mini-waterfalls, larch, juniper and spruce trees that line the route. Both a place to chat with friends or the babbling brook as it pools and drops over the rocky terrain, the Trail Creek Trail is indeed a stretch of glorious solitude as it winds its way through a green space between city streets and houses. Tucked down inside the ravine’s steep walls, one could easily get lost in nature and forget that they are just a few short steps away from city streets.
The lower portion of the trail runs through the historic Chinese Gardens area of Lower Rossland. While not official yet, the City’s heritage commission is considering naming the trail in honour of one of Rossland’s legendary Chinese gardeners, Louis Joe.
While continuing to tie together our city with a network of non-motorized transportation trails, the potential new name for our newest trail may also soon provide a natural historical link between the present and Rossland’s early days. If nothing else, it will provide perhaps the signature inner-city trail in Rossland and bring back some attention to the oft-neglected or overlooked feature that is Trail Creek.
