The Grand Valley Trails Association (GVTA) is a non-profit, charitable organization administered by a board of directors, elected each year at the annual general meeting. The Board meets the second Tuesday of each month at the Allan Reuter Centre, 507 King Street East, Cambridge, ON at 7:15 p.m. The Centre is located on the south east corner of King Street East and Waterloo Street North. Normally there are no meetings in January and July. The GVTA has a Stratgic Plan, revised (April 2008), set of bylaws and Standing Rules 2010-2011 (PDF: 32 pages, 168 kB).
MISSION - The Grand Valley Trails Association is a volunteer organization committed to establishing footpaths within Ontario’s Grand River Watershed in order to promote the protection and public enjoyment of the natural environment and human history of this Canadian Heritage River.
The mandate of the association is to build and maintain hiking trails in the Grand River Valley [watershed map]. As this is the reason for the existence of the association, members are encouraged to become involved in trail maintenance. This activity ranges from participating in work parties to "adopting" a section of the trail. The work involved ranges from repainting blazes to constructing foot bridges. Trail maintenance training sessions are included in the program. If you wish to become a member, please visit our Join GVTA web page and for information about how you can assist GVTA, please visit the Helping web page. Note that one does not have to be an avid hiker to get involved.
In addition, the promotion of outdoor activities such as hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and canoeing is a part of the association's activities. These are supplemented by a few social activities. Day or whole weekend outings are organized by volunteers for most weekends during the year and are published in the association's quarterly newsletter (Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall issues). Some of the hikes and information in the newsletters are available in this website at the Hikes/News. End-to-end chevrons and a badge are available at a nominal cost to those persons who have walked the entire trail or sections of it.
The Association had its beginnings in January 1972, at a public meeting in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. The purpose of the meeting, called by Betty Schneider of the Grand River Conservation Foundation, was to unite groups interested in establishing hiking trails in the Waterloo County area. This resulted in the formation of a steering committee, which began by building a 30-mile (48.3 km) trail along the Grand River from Doon to Conestogo.
The GVTA became incorporated as a charitable organization on January 23, 1973. In that year the trail was extended from Conestogo to Elora Gorge and a program of organized outings was started.
In 1974 enthusiastic members in Brantford formed a committee to begin building a hiking trail from Brantford to Paris while another committee worked on the Kitchener to Paris section, which was formally opened in 1975 on the first Ontario Hiking Day.
In 1987 another ambitious trail expansion took place. With assistance from a federal grant, the trail was extended south from Brantford to Lake Erie (a distance of 90 km). Also, it was extended north from Elora to Alton (a distance of 57 km). Although many of these extensions are on the road, it is hoped that with assistance from local volunteers more off-road sections can be acquired.
For an historical perspective of the main Grand Valley Trail, read the Take-a-Hike series of articles written by W. Haartman.
The GVTA adopted its first Strategic Plan, for the five years 2007-2011, at its Board meeting in December 2006. At the 2007 AGM, the membership voted to accept it.. The plan lays out very clear goals and the steps to achieve them, and should be an effective tool for our survival and growth.
The Plan’s top priority is care and improvement of the Grand Valley Trail, a community asset which is our reason for being. Major items in the Plan include:
The creation of local trail clubs should strengthen the GVTA overall, especially in our ability to improve the trail in the north and south ends of the valley.
You are invited to view or download your own copy of the Strategic Plan, by clicking here (PDF: 160 kB, 21 pages). The Plan is in Adobe PDF file format, for which you can get the Adobe Reader free if required.
If you are unable to download and view the Plan, you can get a copy of the Plan by mail on request. Go to Contact GVTA for a choice of ways to submit your request. If you are not a GVTA member or a representative of an Ontario trail association, please help with our costs by mailing your request with $5.00.
The Trail(s)The main Grand Valley Trail is a marked footpath stretching about 275 km between Port Maitland (42.866035,-79.565699) [near Rock Point Provincial Park] on Lake Erie, south of Dunnville to the town of Alton (43.860379,-80.068796), near Orangeville. A hiker can identify the main Grand Valley Trail by the white blazes approximately 5 cm wide by 15 cm high. For more information about the main trail, blazing, side trails, connecting trails (e.g. Avon and Bruce Trails), parking, camping and the trail user's code, we encourage you to purchase a copy of the GVTA Guidebook (cost & where to get copies). Please note that profits from the sale of the Guidebook are used for the purchase of trail maintenance materials such as pressure treated lumber & used to build foot bridges, boardwalks, box culverts and so on.
The main Grand Valley Trail, and its other side trails, is a community resource and walking it contributes to ones health and wellness. The mandate of creating and maintaining trails in the Grand Valley watershed could not be accomplished without the direct or indirect financial assistance from several community-minded organizations and businesses. We thank these organizations and businesses for their support. For a listing of the contributors, please click here.
Updated 2011 NOVEMBER 18 FRIDAY
