Northern Ontario town plans trail system inspired by Group of Seven paintings

Superior Morning7:52Group of Seven Hiking Trail

Developing trails for hiking, skiing, biking and snow-mobiling is becoming very specialized. Bob Hancherow talks about a special conference.

Northern Ontario trail systems are the focus of a conference taking place on Wednesday and Thursday in Marathon, Ont.

The 2016 Trailhead North conference will bring together people who use, manage and market trails to talk about how to make the most of wilderness paths for recreation and tourism.

"It's all about creating an experience," said Bob Hancherow, the general manager of the Marathon Economic Development Corporation.

In recent years, Marathon has been working with neighbouring communities to expand the trail system in the region. Their goal is to attract visitors by leading them to the spectacular scenery along the coast of Lake Superior, said Hancherow.

Walking in the footsteps of the Group of Seven

The town has been developinga trail system inspired by artists in the Group of Seven, whorepeatedly visited the region in the 1920s.

"So what attracted the Group of Seven? What brought Lawren Harris to this area to paint year after year?," said Hancherow."How do we capitalize on that?"

The idea is to create a trail system that brings visitors to the sites portrayed infamous paintings.

Hancherow saidhe's looking forward to sharing his own town's experience, andhearing ideas from other parts of the province.

The TrailheadNorthconference is also an opportunity to discusspractical aspects of establishing, and maintaining trails, he said, both on land, and on the water.