featured-image

Randy Murphy, president of the East Coast Trail Association, says some sections of the trail need to be repaired as soon as possible. (Arlette Lazarenko/CBC) As the East Coast Trail celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, says the president of the association that looks after it says parts of it are in desperate need of repair. The 336-kilometre trail, which stretches along the coast of much of the Avalon Peninsula, has sections with structures such as bridges and steps that are falling apart, says Randy Murphy, president of the East Coast Trail Association.

"It's not widespread but it's enough to be significant that it needs our immediate attention," he told CBC News in a recent interview. The association has put out a call for donations on its social media pages, with pictures of trail structures. One shows a former wooden bridge, now reduced to broken, rotten planks with exposed muddy patches exposed.



Another shows the remains of a deteriorated wooden staircase. Structure damage is caused by three main things, Murphy says: wear and tear from an increasing number of hikers, severe weather, and age. Repair work on the trail's thousands of structures is done by workers, he said, paid for trail memberships and donation programs.

The association manages a budget of $150,000, Murphy added, but they need double that, $300,000, to keep up with the increased amount of work this year. A broken wooden path in Beaches Path on the East Coast Trail. (Submitted by Julia Penney) The as.

Back to Beauty Page