Volunteers build large-scale rock labyrinth in heart of northern Ontario provincial park

Volunteers build rock labyrinth in provincial park A team of volunteers built a large rock labyrinth for people to walk through in the heart of Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park.

“If you build it, they will come.”

That's what an army of volunteers said this morning while creating a rock labyrinth for people to walk through and find a sense of serenity in the heart of Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park east of North Bay.

Up close, the rocks may look randomly placed in an empty field.

But step back and you can tell they're part of a much bigger picture.The rocks are lined up side-by-side, creating the spiraling outline of a labyrinth for people to walk through.

"With cell phones and iPads and everything else like social media and all the divisiveness, it's really nice to come out to a place where you don't have any of that," said George Regan, one of the volunteers.

The idea to assemble one came from ‘Back Roads’ Bill Steer, the founder and general manager of the Canadian Ecological Centre. Steer has walked through a few different man-made labyrinths during his northern Ontario explorations.

He felt one should be made in the heart of the provincial park.

"It's here on a decommissioned part of the park which used to be baseball field," he said.

"So it's a wonderful place to create a full-sized labyrinth."

It has been a two year project for Steer to complete, from initial design to the final phase of putting the rocks in place.

When you walk through the network of passages and paths, it's meant to symbolize reflection on the journey in life while finding inner peace.

"This is a pattern of going back and forth and as you walk the labyrinth, it's kind of like your walkway through life," added Steer.

"It's a way to mediate, think and breathe."

Lifting and moving rocks into place is volunteer builder Shelby Thompson. Every time she filled a gap with a rock, she told CTV News she reflected on her life connecting to the spiritual link of the labyrinth.

"Just knowing that my little bit of this day that I came here and helped out made this really big final project that we can all enjoy here at the park makes me feel great," she said.

The labyrinth will be open for anyone wanting to walk through and is also wheelchair accessible.

Volunteers added for those who want to it will be open in the winter for snowshoeing.

Volunteers also said they hope when people go through, they won't get lost along the way during both reflection and walking.