Summer riders give Fernie trails two thumbs up

A recent survey by the Fernie Trails Alliance (FTA) has revealed a high level of satisfaction with the trail network on offer around Fernie.

The survey, which ran from mid-April to early May had 421 voluntary responses, with questions and feedback limited to trails managed by the FTA.

For summer usage, 96 percent of respondents identified mountain biking as what they used the trails for, while 81 percent said they used them for hiking and walking.

Overall (including winter) the reviews were glowing, with 82 percent of respondents giving the FTA-managed trail network a 4 or 5 out of 5.

Focused just on summer, separating responses by mountain biking skill level, intermediate riders (24 percent of respondents) were the most likely to recommend Fernie trails to others, with 88 percent giving the network top marks. Expert riders (23 percent of respondents) were the least likely, but still high with 61 percent giving the same score. The largest group of respondents – advanced riders at 47 percent of all responses, had a rate of 77 percent giving top marks.

Of all respondents, 56 percent said they used the trail network more than 15 times a month, while another 18 percent said they used it between five and 15 times in a month, making the trail users a loyal and reliable lot.

There was a healthy mix of feedback on what riders wanted from the network, with 66 percent saying they wanted more blue trails, and 60 percent saying black trails would be great too. At either end of the scale, 25 percent said they wanted more green trails, and 25 percent more double black. The level of expertise slanted the way you’d expect on the lower end, with riders comfortable on green saying they wanted more green, and blue riders more blue – but advanced riders apparently wanted more expert level trails rather than advanced ones.

The full FTA trails survey can be found on the FTA website at fernietrailsalliance.com as part of their June newsletter, and includes data on winter trail use as well.

READ MORE: Repairs to begin in earnest on Fernie trails damaged by November storms