Vernon, B.C. - Today was an excellent day to take a walk in the park to entertain the kids who were out of school due to a Provincial Professional Development LSA Day. On our stroll, we came across a new bridge (see photo below). So I phoned the Regional District of North Okanagan to find out about the upgrades to the trail in BX Ranch Park, one of many dog parks in Vernon, and why the bridge re-routes the trail over the creek.
Keith Pinkoski, Park Planner, spoke to me this afternoon. He said, "One reason behind re-routing the bridge is to ensure people are staying on parks property. People have been going up and down the park for years. There are trails all over in that area and there has been no real direction. In the Spring, the small creek becomes a torrent. Using some mapping, and a detailed description of the creek bed, we determined where the bridges should be located in order to ensure users of the trail will still be able to cross the creek in high water. There will be two large bridges put up this year. Small additional ones will be put up by Venture Training. Another purpose for the bridges is to connect the trail to Haynes Rd. Also, BX Creek is a wildlife corridor. We want to limit our footprint and limit human intrusion into certain areas."
My dog "Julie" is checking out the new bridge.
The BX Ranch Park starts out as a big open field....
Then it turns into a lovely enchanted trail that follows BX creek in the trees under a canopy of foliage....
The trail doesn't require you to cross creeks over logs, but these kids wanted to navigate them for fun...
The colours of Fall are especially pretty in the forest....
There are several dog parks in Vernon. Click here for a list of Vernon dog parks.
Thanks for reading!
Courtenay Pitcher, http://www.vernongirl.com
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