Rainbow Routes looking for participants for Sudbury Camino

A Sudbury event loosely based on the famous El Camino de Santiago in Europe will happen this summer.

The Sudbury Camino will take place August 10. It's a 30 kilometre route that runs through various parts of the city. Hikers can do shortened portions of the trail.

It all started in 2017 when Sudbury officially connected to The Great Trail, formally known as the Trans Canada Trail, John Hall, president of Rainbow Routes' board of directors said.

"We had about 100 participants that first year," he said. "We've decided to keep it going ever since then."

Although August 10 is the official day for the Sudbury Camino, people who want to walk the trail can do so at any time. Participants can get maps through Rainbow Routes.

"You can definitely set your sights to a pretty daunting but also realistic challenge," he said.

Hall says the hike is open to everybody but says it's a good idea to prepare. He says Rainbow Routes will be offering a boot camp in July for people looking to get fit before the big day.

As for what people will see on the route, Hall says it gives long time residents and newcomers a chance to see the city's regreening efforts.

"This idea of discovering or perhaps even rediscovering Sudbury [as] we cover a lot of terrain on this hike," he said.

"We start in Hillcrest Playground in Lively and we finish at Moonlight Beach, so as you can imagine, we cover a lot of territory."

One person who is no stranger to longer hikes is Sudbury's Carmel Girouard. She's done the Sudbury Camino twice and the Santiago Camino once.

"It was everything I dreamedof," she said. "You are walking, seeing beautiful scenery and meeting interesting people from around the world. It's so much funto feel that community spirit."

In 2018, CBC Morning North host Markus Schwabedid the Sudbury Camino with his daughter, Katarina.

Girouard says the Sudbury Camino is worth doing.

"It was nice going through downtown [because] it was during the market days so we were actually right in the middle of the market," she said.

"Next thing you know about a kilometre away, we're on the boardwalk of Ramsey Lake."

Like the Santiago Camino, the Sudbury Camino has a passport participants can get stamped along the way.

"It's a way of showing that you've been to certain parts along the trail," Hall said.

"But it also has valuable information including a map and various points of interest."