Despite some major challenges, including a severe drought that closed Nova Scotia’s woodlands off for weeks this past summer, the president of Cumberland Trails says 2025 will still go down as a very busy year for the organization.
Greg Nix said Cumberland County is very fortunate to have a number of trails organizations and snowmobile clubs who are working in partnership with the Municipality of Cumberland, TransCanada Trails and the province’s Communities, Culture, Heritage and Tourism Department to maintain and enhance an extensive trail system in this part of Nova Scotia.
“We are very lucky to have so many people and so many groups that are trail conscious who through a combination of grants and volunteer efforts have been able to do a lot of work on trails around Cumberland County,” Nix said.
Volunteers work on trail enhancements in the Parrsboro area earlier this year. Projects at Wards Brook and Hidden Falls were among several taking place throughout the Municipality of Cumberland, spearheaded by Cumberland Trails and various partners.
The cornerstone of that work, he said, is a fantastic group of volunteers who are not only trail users, but the people who spend hours in the woods labouring to maintain and upgrade a system that’s garnering attention not only locally but beyond county borders to the rest of Nova Scotia and the Maritimes.
Nix said there have been several major projects in 2025 in the Parrsboro area. This includes the Partridge Island, Hidden Falls and Wards Brook trails as well as along the Parrsboro escarpment that’s part of the UNESCO Cliffs of Fundy Global Geopark.
That work included work on five trails in the geopark as well as a cleanup and repair work around Hidden Falls, that included a new parking lot to enhance access.
“Thank heavens for so many volunteers because it was the type of work that required a lot of hands and wheelbarrows, moving some pretty heavy items,” he said. “The old adage many hands makes light work was more than true.”
At Partridge Island, the group worked to increase accessibility of the steeper sections by putting in new railing and gravel stairs and wood supports.
“This will allow more people to access what is truly a breathtaking view from the end of Partridge Island,” Nix said.
In northern Cumberland, Nix said the trails group did a lot of work replacing a bridge on the short line route about 10 km from Oxford, repaired bridges and created a new trailhead near Crossroads Cycle in Pugwash – providing a visible trailhead on the Sunrise Trail with connection to the Trans Canada Trail system.
Trans Canada Trails, the municipality and the province all provided funding to repair the Wallace Bridge Station trailhead, including new drainage and a pair of accessible washrooms, while a third accessible washroom was put in place at the Wallace Bridge trailhead.
“Volunteers moved approximately 170 tonnes of crusher dust in 25 days,” he said. “There were a lot of volunteers and a lot of donated materials that made it all possible before the ban on the woods started.”
Perhaps the biggest goal and one that’s getting closer each year is the creation of a Destination Trail in Cumberland County – which would be fourth in Nova Scotia following the creation of trails from Halifax to Mahone Bay on the South Shore, Port Hawkesbury to Inverness in Cape Breton and Wolfville to Kentville in the Annapolis Valley.
Nix said the Destination Trail in Cumberland would connect to the trail system in Pictou County.
Trails are continuing to grow in popularity. Nix said more people are discovering the outdoors and what Nova Scotia has to offer through its trail system. At one time, trails were dominated by ATVs and snowmobiles, but now it includes cyclists, pedestrians and people looking for a safe place to walk their dogs.
He said there are also strong relationships between motorized users and other users with everyone being respectful of each other.
It’s also something that promotes rural economic development in coastal communities such as Pugwash and Wallace in Cumberland County and Tatamagouche in Colchester. It’s also something that’s growing with connections to the trails in and around Oxford and the Municipality of Cumberland’s recent decision to designate roadways in Springhill and Pugwash for off-highway vehicle users.
“The pieces are all coming together,” Nix said. “This is all going to increase the tourist base and promote a healthier population physically and mentally. Ecotourism, although talked about for years, is a real thing. People are looking for smaller experiences that take a day or two and what we are offering here in Cumberland County more than meets that demand.”
He believes the growth in the trail system will promote small businesses such as those that rent bicycles and off-highway vehicles like ATVs and snowmobiles.
“It’s a bright future,” he said.
To see more about what Cumberland County’s trails have to offer, go to https://youtube.com/shorts/x_GLFfwPo-w?feature=share
None of the trail work was easy, requiring lots of volunteers doing a lot of manual labour along Cumberland County’s extensive system of trails.