The trail begins at the end of Old Mill Road, which heads southwest off Broadwater Road about a half km. east of the north end of the highway bridge over the Columbia River. Going down Old Mill Road, pass under the railway bridge and you will find yourself in the parking area for the trail. The 1.5 km. long trail follows the river and passes by several historical and nature signs, as well as sensitive wetland habitat and even part of an old road grader. The trail is quite flat and open only to pedestrians.
In attempting to walk the trail in August of 2014 it was found that less than a half km. down the trail it was still flooded, meaning that they are still spilling a lot of water upstream at Keenleyside dam. The river is still wide and fast at this point.
For three years in a row high water levels in the Columbia River hampered both hikers and those attempting to repair damage done along the trail by floods in 2012. In 2015 work had begun on repairing boardwalks on the trail and was expected to continue at least into 2016. The Castlegar News ran several articles on the ongoing work at the trail, the beginning of one of which follows.
Restoring Waldie Island
posted Feb 5, 2015 at 9:00 AM
The Castlegar Parks and Trails Society is anticipating a busy year at Waldie Island Trail this year. Waldie Island Trail is one of the most popular local trails and links the community of Brilliant to Castlegar via the Robson Bridge.
“We’ve been seeking to reestablish the trail since the boardwalks were destroyed by flooding in 2012” said Lawrence Redfern, speaking for the Society. “It took some time to remove the destroyed materials, and we needed to coordinate our work with the City’s sewage lagoon infrastructure works and raise the required funds before we could put a comprehensive plan in place. High water periods in both 2013 and 2014 have hampered planned work too so we have been working around that.” The original boardwalk materials were assessed by several people and it was determined that the remaining lifespan of the materials coupled with the potential for a repeat flood event pointed to construction of a new boardwalk. “When the next major flood event occurs we want to be able to quickly complete repairs and not be looking at the kind of damage we saw in 2012” said Mark Jennings, Society president.
The Society is once again looking to local schools to help construct trail and complete plantings in the area. The City of Castlegar has provided tread surfacing materials and funding for restoration works both this year and in 2016. “We expect to plant about 100 trees and shrubs this spring and to rebuild about 150m of trail with the support of local schools. The students have made a very significant contribution to local trails the past two years and it’s a real pleasure to have their help on this project” said Redfern. In 2013 and 2014 the Society partnered with local schools on ‘work and learn’ days at Waldie Island and in Pass Creek Park. Students built trail and planted trees and shrubs and enjoyed educational sessions hosted by professional foresters and biologists who volunteer with the Society.
Read more at the Castlegar News
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