November 2010 - The Bulletin Magazine

Tales N’Trails
The East Gwillimbury Trails Committee
Vivian Creek Trail
by Sharon Hamilton
Life is enveloped in change! Having just experienced a magnificent fall walk on the Vivian Creek Trail, I
set down to write about the wonderful experience when it occurred to me that the trail as I had experienced
it would have vastly changed by time and nature and though altered after three weeks, would be neither worse
nor better, just different. As members of the East Gwillimbury Trails Committee we plan and work to make
changes to the trails with the purpose of improving them for you in some way. One such trail is the Vivian
Creek Trail in Mount Albert.
The Vivian Creek Trail has undergone a major transformation since its inclusion on our trails roster several
years ago. Having no name at its adoption by the committee it was labeled for its significant geographical
feature, the Vivian Creek, which traversed it. The trail had three access points i.e.; off Samuel Harper Court,
off Royal Oak Road and off Valley Mills Road. Consisting of a narrow path its single loop ran up and down
a steep hill mostly through grassland vegetation and took about 30 minutes in total to navigate. A
questionable creek crossing consisted of some boards nailed together and jammed against a couple of trees.
This changed quickly when the committee defied the winter elements to erect a much safer wooden bridge
which is still in use. The other difficulty, and this is one on which we continue to work on, was the sheerness
of the incline up and down the hill. During our first IMBA (International Mountain Biking Association) Trail
Building School the gradient was modified and the trail lengthened.
Several work sessions and a second IMBA Trail Building School further modified and lengthened the trail.
The trash dumping at the top of the hill which had occurred over time has been stopped by the Town and the
unsightly mess cleaned up. The Mount Albert Scouts have planted trees within the area to increase wildlife
habitat and biological diversity. The Town has opened the Vivian Creek Park complete with parking lot and
connected it with a whole new section of trail within the park to our original loop and naturally this afforded
a fourth and very attractive access egress point on Centre Street. Yet another segment of trail, still to be
14 The Bulletin | NOVEMBER 2010 www.TheBulletinMagazine.com