With over 88,000 kilometers of trails, Ontario is working to catalogue and accurately represent this wildly diverse inventory of trail experiences. The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ontario Trails Council are exchanging trail information to make it easier to find and use trails!
To find out how to add your GPS go to: Your Trail GPS
To support the objectives of the Ontario Trails Strategy, Land Information Ontario (LIO) is facilitating the collection and collation of trail information across Ontario into a consolidated database calledthe Ontario Trail Network (OTN). The OTN will involve trail networks in urban, rural and wilderness settings managed by a named organization for recreation, active living or tourism purposes.
Examples of trails in the OTN include:
- Hiking, Running and Walking trails
- Cycling and Mountain Bike routes
- All Terrain Vehicle, Snowmobiling and Dirt Bike trails
- X-Country Skiing and Snowshoeing trails
- Equestrian trails
- Canoe and portage routes
LIO’s objective is to work towards making all trail data well-managed, accessible, easy to integrate, and affordable. The Ontario Trail Network is a database of trails that can be used to generate maps for printing or display on Web sites.
Benefits of the Ontario Trail Network
The OTN will unify the collection of trail data and conform to satellite navigation system standards using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. Having an accurate collection of data has wide-spread benefits. OTN trail data can be used:
- By trail users to combine trail routes from several organizations
- By event organizers to plan marathons, charity fund-raisers, and group tours
- By trail organizations to generate accurate maps for trail maintenance
- By emergency services to find, plan, and assist injured or lost trail users
- By non-trail groups to promote fitness, tourism or economic development
Participating in the Ontario Trail Network Initiative
The Ontario Trail Network is a partnership between Land Information Ontario, the Ministry of Health Promotion, and the Ontario Trails Council. Land Information Ontario is building partnerships with individual Trail organizations including:
- Regional and local municipalities
- Conservation Authorities
- Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Ontario Parks
- Federal government departments
- Volunteer and non-profit Trail organizations
- Commercial Trail operators
The partnership ensures intellectual property for trail information remains with the trail custodian, and benefits and restrictions are respected. Like the Ontario Road Network (ORN), the OTN usestrail information, but does not make the original material available.
Land Information Ontario is working with OTN users and managers to define the data standards, collection methods, and long-term data maintenance strategies for trail data.
If your organization is involved in trails in any way, we encourage you to contact Land Information Ontario. Help us capture data in digital form by entering into data sharing partnership agreements.
How to Access OTN Data
Beginning in the spring of 2008, the OTN will be available to qualified organizations and MNR Base Data users. Eligible organizations must become members of the Ontario Geospatial Data Exchange and enter into a license agreement(s). With these agreements in place, OTN data and regularupdates will be available at no cost from the LIO Warehouse.
For more information on the OTN, please visit www.lio.gov.on.ca or contact Ms. Carol-Anne Alberstson at(705) 755-2175 or by email at carolanne.albertson@ontario.ca
