The current Golden Hikes website is the evolution of work by several people. The goal of this group of individuals is to provide trail information for hiking opportunities around the Golden area. However, underlying this goal is the common value that each of us sees in spending time outdoors, particularly in nature.

The original website (to which we have given a makeover in 2015) and the core text that makes up the bulk of this site, is the result of diligent effort by the founder, Kevin. Responding to frequent inquiries for trail information at his bookstore in the early 2000’s, he undertook the initial assessment and subsequent written route descriptions for over 50 hikes around the Golden area. Over the years, he was assisted by an unofficial army that emailed in updates.

The idea for the website makeover stemmed from a larger project envisioned by Rick Seward called the Golden Trails Project. Rick’s initial vision for that project was to revive some of the pivotal hiking trails around Golden by mapping the trails, establishing trailhead kiosks, and clearing the trails of deadfall that had accumulated over years.

You can learn more about the Golden Trails Project here:


The Golden Trails Project

Under the auspices of the Golden Outdoor Recreation Association, the goal of the Golden Hikes Project is to promote trails and improve hiking experiences around Golden. To accomplish this goal, the project aims to revive many of the trails in the area through both promotion and minor maintenance of the trails.

Promotion of the trails will be in the form of trailhead kiosks, digital mapping, and the provision of trail route descriptions. This information will be shared with Tourism Golden, the local Destination Marketing Organization. Maintenance will involve the removal of tree deadfall. Further to this, the project intends to have the trails legally recognized by the Province of BC through the Section 57 application process.

The initial stages of the project began in 2014 and will continue through to 2016.

 

As he has done before, Rick enlisted the help of Chad Gennings for the Golden Hikes website project. It is to them that Kevin passed over the reins for the Golden Hikes website. For purposes of funding, the Golden Hikes website was placed under the umbrella of the non-profit society Golden Outdoor Recreation Association (GORA) where Chad was the Board’s Secretary. Funding was provided by Columbia Basin Trust’s Community Initiatives & Affected Areas Program. That’s a mouthful. Locally we refer to it simply as CBT funding. The website was then masterfully rebranded and relaunched by Dave Best of Best Impressions Photography and Web Design. Kindly Dave also donated some of his time to the project, in addition to offering his services at a reduced rate.

With the passing of the reins, much effort has been focused on mapping the trails with GPS, collecting photos, and designing the website. The work of Rick and Chad is strictly voluntary – keep that in mind when you find some erroneous information. All fees collected from advertising go towards maintaining the site. It is a work in process. It will take years to collect GPS tracks, photos, and update information for the 50 plus trails. Thanks to all who help in this process.

Rick and Chad
Golden Hikes
May 2015