The Ontario Trails Council (OTC) (French: Conseil de Sentiers de l'Ontario) is a charitable organization which promotes the management, use, preservation and development of recreational trails in Ontario, Canada.
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Membership
The Ontario Trails Council has over 200 organizational members, made up of conservation authorities, trail user groups (such as the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs, Hike Ontario, Ontario Recreational Canoe and Kayak Association, Ontario Equestrian Federation), municipal park and recreation departments, economic development offices, regional tourism organizations (such as Explorers Edge and RTO1), as well as a number of non-governmental trail groups such as The Georgian Bay Cast Trail and the Kinghorn Trail Association. Other members include biospheres and Ontario Government agencies such as the Niagara Parks Commission. The Council's membership represents the broad range of stakeholders involved in Ontario's more than 80,000 kilometres (50,000 mi) of trail.
History
The Council was formed in 1976 as a project of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. During the three years before it was disbanded, the Council consulted with and received submissions from over three hundred interested Ontario organizations and presented a report to the provincial government.
The Council was reconstituted in 1991 as a charity. From 1991 to 2001, the OTC was the agent for the Trans Canada Trail in Ontario, responsible for completing the Ontario section of that endeavour. The OTC has also taken an active part in the conversion of abandoned railway roadbeds in Ontario into recreational trails.
Since 2001, the Ontario Trails Council has become the provincial trails association, creating a centralized website, disseminating information about trails to the public, assisting in the design and establishment of the Ontario Trails Strategy, holding an annual conference called "Trailhead Ontario", and creating a provincial trail education program.
The Ontario Trails Council receives support from member organizations, the general public and through project grants from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport (2013), the Ministry of Natural Resources (2012), and the Ministry of Employment, Economic Development and Infrastructure (2014-15).