Randy Murphy is president of the East Coast Trail Association. Murphy says over the past 30 years, the trail network has become internationally renowned. (Henrike Wilhelm/CBC) At its annual Trail Raiser in Bay Bulls Saturday, the East Coast Trail Association wasn't just celebrating meeting its fundraising goal of $100,000, but the trail's 30th anniversary as well.
Association president Randy Murphy says making it to the three-decade milestone is "an awesome accomplishment." "When we started in '94 ..
. we always mused that some time in the future, we would have a trail that basically would be a destination hiking trail in eastern Newfoundland for the world. And we thought it would be achieved probably in the next generation," said Murphy.
"Here we are, 30 years in, and the trail basically is recognized internationally." Over $100K raised for East Coast Trail during annual fundraiser New to hiking? Before lacing up, read these tips to conquering N.L.
's trails and mountains When the association benchmarked the trail's performance in 2013, he said, they found that 58 per cent of hikers were from outside of the province, contributing $3.5 million to the provincial economy. In 2010, National Geographic Traveler identified the Avalon Peninsula coast as the top coastline in the world.
"We've gotten great coverage internationally," said Murphy. "And as a result, basically, people coming in to experience our trail, the raw natural beauty of the trail, our communities, our rich, colourf.
