Trails are back in the news this week, with the release of a draft Dufferin "Active Transportation and Trails Master Plan," which will be on display this Saturday at Shelburne's Centre Dufferin Recreation Complex and on Saturday, November 28, at the Alder Street Recreation Centre in Orangeville.

Although the plan focuses primarily on non-motorized routes on County-owned lands and roads, it apparently also builds on work by Headwaters Communities in Action's Trails Working Group and the existing trails plans in Dufferin's local municipalities.

Of all the planned trails, perhaps the most interesting and challenging are those already in existence and planned in the vicinity of Island Lake.

At present, there are fully accessible trails along the lake's south and north shore, last summer's major project being the completion of a high-quality trail across the north dam and along the shoreline as far east as a planned crossing to the south shore that will require construction of two bridges.

Although the north-shore trail can be reached from the Hockley Road via an excellent trail and boardwalk opened two years ago, it isn't getting a lot of use, and probably won't until there is similarly easy access from Orangeville's existing trail system.

Unfortunately, maps of the planned Island Lake perimeter trail suggest that providing the "missing link" between the north trail and the town trail that follows the Highway 10 bypass will be awfully expensive, involving some form of crossing of a substantial bay.

But there is a possible alternative that would be a lot less costly and could see Orangeville residents able to park in the huge Fairgrounds Shopping Centre lot and hike fairly directly to the north shore trail.

The possibility lies in the existence of a long-abandoned, yet clearly marked trail through a piece of relatively primeval forest and the potential of a temporary grass trail across lands held by a local developer that apparently has no immediate plan for a subdivision.

The forest trail can be reached by heading west to the end of the lake's north dam, built to prevent the lake from emptying into the Nottawasaga River.

A recent visit to the trail provided a real shock, in the discovery of a beautiful new, but upended, picnic table which I later discovered had disappeared after Mono had installed it as a feature for the new north trail.

The discovery came in a conversation with Mono councillor Bob Shirley, who before returning to Mono council early this year had long been involved in the trails project as the town's representative on the Credit Valley Conservation authority.

Surprisingly, Bob wasn't aware of the forest trail, which boasts clear red markings, evidence of significant tree removal and an earthen floor that has been complicated by the gradual emergence (thanks to frost?) of boulders deposited by a retreating glacier.

Nor was he certain as to the forest's ownership, although he speculated that it might be part of the holdings of Mono Developments Ltd., the local developer.

Although the trail was obviously created years ago by some local hiking enthusiasts, and may have followed a predecessor route to the new north-south trail from Hockley Road, it clearly hasn't been maintained in recent years. Recent wind storms have led to several trees impeding hikers' passage.

Whatever the case, it's highly unlikely the forest itself will ever become part of a residential subdivision, and it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to conclude that even if it's in private hands it should be part of a parks reserve.

In the circumstances, it should be possible to provide the gravel needed to make the forest trail virtually accessible at minimal cost.

Although that would merely take hikers out to meadowlands that will one day be turned into a subdivision, it should be possible to provide a temporary grass trail between the forest and Forest Lawn.

In fact, there already is an impressive network of grass trails on the Mono Developments property that are quietly maintained by local residents who occasionally mow the grass.

Can a grass trail be considered "accessible"? I suppose it depends on several factors beyond the applicable definition. Perhaps the best test would be whether such trails can be used safely by power wheelchairs.

Whatever the case, the option is surely one that ought to be explored by the various parties that could become involved.

Another option that's worthy of consideration is the provision of an alternative to the direct route from the north dam to Forest Lawn (or more accurately the signalized intersection at Highway 10 that would provide access to the nearby town trail).

The alternative "loop" would use a surviving portion of the ancient Credit Valley Railway spur line that went from the CVR station near Broadway and Fourth Street to a quarry north of Hockley Road and west of Hurontario Street.

Unlike the forest trail, the old railbed has been fairly well maintained, probably by CVC staff, and provides access to another grassy trail that roughly follows the western shore of Island Lake.

In an era when the cost of new trails tends to be measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars, a combination of good will and enterprise on the part of the various stakeholders could seemingly provide a low-cost means of accessing the existing Island Lake trails.