Oak Ridges Trail Association

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The Oak Ridges Trail Association (ORTA) is an incorporated charitable organisation whose purpose is to develop, maintain, promote and expand the hiking trail system across the Oak Ridges Moraine in south-central Ontario, Canada. ORTA has ten chapters, each of which maintains a section of the approximately 250 km of trail. The Oak Ridges Trail is connected to the Bruce Trail, Ganaraska Trail, Nokiidaa Trail and Trans Canada Trail.

Along the trail

[edit] History

Efforts to establish a trail along the Oak Ridges Moraine first began in 1973. The Ontario Trail Riders' Association established the Great Pine Ridge Equestrian Trail located primarily along existing roads and road allowances.

In 1991, a group of volunteers gathered through the cooperation of STORM (Save the Oak Ridges Moraine), the Metro Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and Hike Ontario. These volunteers developed the idea of a system of public recreational trails along the full length of the moraine, from Albion Hills in the west, to the Northumberland Forest in the east.

The volunteers formed an Oak Ridges Trail Steering Committee and following a series of meetings, the Oak Ridges Trail Association (ORTA) was officially inaugurated at a public meeting held at Albion Hills in May 1992. The main objective of the association is to develop and secure the Oak Ridges Trail "...thereby promoting an appreciation and respect for the Moraine's ecological, cultural and scenic integrity, with the aim of retaining a trail corridor in its natural state." [Oak Ridges Trail Guidebook 2004] ORTA now comprises over 700 members and is working on extending the Oak Ridges Trail from its present eastern terminus at Rice Lake toward Campbellford; and from its present western terminus at Palgrave toward Mono Cliffs Provincial Park.

ORTA offers a marked trail and side trails, a detailed guidebook, quarterly newsletter, and a program of group hikes - about 250 hike, snowshoe or ski outings per year.

[edit] Funding

ORTA receives funding from both private and corporate donations, as well as grants from the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation. Ontario's 2005 Greenbelt Act and associated Greenbelt Plan have brought a measure of financial assistance to attempts to preserve the environmental integrity of this natural resource.