New nature park walking trail opening

Members of the Sentiers Vaudreuil-Soulanges Trails Association will be walking the entire 30-km length of a new nature hiking trail that stretches from the Hudson Community Centre to Rigaud’s Parc Chartier-De LotbiniËre.

Sunday’s arrival in the heart of Rigaud will coincide with the municipality’s spectacular Festival des Couleurs taking place that same weekend. This popular event gives nature lovers a chance to enjoy Mont Rigaud’s spectacular, blazing colours.

Father Roland Demers, whose pastoral charge now includes Rigaud and Hudson, has kindly accepted to become the Association’s honorary patron. A lifelong hiker and walker himself, Father Demers shares the Association’s goals of acquainting people with the natural beauty of our region’s old-growth forests and wetlands.

The walk kicks off at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 11 in Hudson and will meander through Vaudreuil-Dorion and St. Lazare to Rigaud’s l’Escapade trail network. All the trails on the route are regularly used by the public. Association members will be acting both as guides and sweepers.

The Vaudreuil-Soulanges area is blessed with a variety of ecosystems and mixed trails that offer residents an opportunity to walk and enjoy such natural wonders, says SVS-VST vice-president Gary Dover. “Most of it very good going underfoot and on public trails - way beyond our earlier expectations.”

The Demers Trail is a symbol of what can be done to explore, map and preserve a vanishing natural resource, says SVS-VST president Jean-Yves Massenet. “This trail map is the result of months of hard work by our members and represents the starting point for further trail links throughout the wider Vaudreuil-Soulanges region.”

In less than six months, the organization has charted a large trail network with the help of an enthusiastic and growing membership concerned about preserving our region’s greenspaces.

“One of our goals is to spread the message that we are all stewards of our natural heritage for our children and grandchildren,” says Association treasurer Heidi Wright. "If we don’t act now, we’ll lose it.”

Vaudreuil-Soulanges MRC is one of the fastest growing regions in Canada, notes SVS-VST secretary Jim Duff. “We have to work with everyone — landowners, municipalities and the MRC — to ensure that future generations have the opportunity to enjoy some of the most spectacular natural views in eastern North America.”

For membership information, visit www.sentiersvaudreuilsoulanges.org or call Jean-Yves Massenet at 450-458-0940.