Potential closure of Calgary’s beloved Douglas Fir Trail sparks concern

The fate of a popular city hiking trail is in doubt, causing concern among residents

Much of Calgary’s Douglas Fir Trail has been closed by the city for two years, and many people who recreate in the area say they don’t want to see it dismantled for good.

A section of the trail, called “the drainage” by users, is constantly in need of repair.

“There’s quite a large volume of water that comes from Wildwood -- that’s kind of sketchy,” said Mike Bracko, founder of the Save Douglas Fir Trail Facebook page.

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“Because, back in 2017, instead of building a bridge [the city] made a trail that goes up over top of it and that trail has kind of failed, and then there’s stairs going down – and those stairs have failed.”

The city closed that section of the trail in 2023 to assess the unsafe portion and undertook a two-year-long study at a cost of $250,000 to map out each stream and culvert for its risk analysis, according to Amir Wazir, geotechnical engineer on the project.

“We have done the analysis, so we know what we’re dealing with,” he said. “Previously, the work was kind of spotty. Now, we have pretty good grasp of the slope stability in the area and the trail conditions.”

“We want to build the trail to a higher standard, so currently, what we’re trying to do is to get some funding, do the detailed design, get some input from the interest groups – interested parties – and then design the trail and build it to a longer design life."

Kelden Formosa is a keen Douglas Fir trail user and a member of the Edworthy Park Heritage Society.

He says society members have a vested interest in the trail.

“One of the things that I think people find frustrating is that it wasn’t just all built with government money,” he said. “A lot of it was built with donors from the community over the last 20, 30 years, and then not just money but time.”

“There are people who care about this place.”

Nadine Nicholson has been using the trail in some capacity for 23 years.

She says she’s concerned the trail could someday be closed for good.

“There needs to be some kind of resolution and clarity,” she said. “How does that make sense to pour in millions and millions of dollars into deconstructing a trail where most of it is usable and accessible and easily available for people in this community and all around the city?”

Wazir says fixing the trail could cost upwards of $30,000,000 to make it safe for all Calgarians.

“I think [community members] want to have this backcountry experience in their backyard,” he said. “But this is not Kananaskis, this is an area of municipality, and our intent is that we make it safe for all the users – not just the avid trail users.”

Bracko says the trail has seen closures for close to nine years, and he’d like to see a permanent fix that includes keeping the trail in its current alignment.

“What I’m trying to do is work with the city – and all of our colleagues on the Facebook page – to do the best we can to keep the trail open,” he said. “It’s startling to see how many trees they’ve cut down, but what they’re trying to do is stabilize that [wet] section, and I don’t really understand it, but they’re cutting down trees and then they’re going to plant more trees and vegetation.”

The city says now it’s looking at securing funding and a design that will work for all users.

To learn more about the project, you can visit the City of Calgary’s website.