Trail Clearing Program

Trail Clearing Program

The Willmore Wilderness Foundation’s Trail Clearing Program restores historic pack trails and helps keep Willmore Wilderness Park accessible for Albertans and visitors alike.

Each summer and fall, trail crews rehabilitate traditional trails once used by Indigenous peoples, trappers, guides, and outfitters—bringing the trail network back to life in Willmore Wilderness Park (Improvement District No. 25).

Since 2002, the Foundation has led trail rehabilitation efforts that have restored and reopened many hundreds of kilometres of trail. This work also supports tourism by helping protect and promote the region’s unique mountain culture, historic cabins, gravesites, and traditional travel routes.

Our crews do more than clear trails. They also:

– pack out garbage

– stock campgrounds with firewood

– travel and work by packhorse and saddle horse in tent camps

Why This Program Matters

The Trail Clearing Program is also a hands-on youth mentorship and skills training program. Local youth work alongside Elders, senior trailmen, and experienced horsemen to learn traditional backcountry skills and help carry this knowledge forward to future generations.

Participants gain practical experience in:

– trail restoration and wilderness work

– horse handling and horsemanship

– safe backcountry travel

– traditional mountain skills

The Foundation also supports long-term stewardship through detailed mapping of the traditional pack trail network.