A regional trail network connecting lakes, communities and existing recreation routes could become a major tourism opportunity for the St. Paul region.

The concept was discussed during a recent Town of St. Paul Committee of the Whole meeting, where council heard a presentation from Linda Sallstrom with the St. Paul & Elk Point Economic Development Alliance (STEP).

Sallstrom explained that tourism is becoming an increasing focus for both the province and regional economic development groups.

“The province is talking about doubling tourism by 2035,” Sallstrom said, noting that Alberta is working on establishing Tourism Development Zones to help support that goal.

Building on the Iron Horse Trail

One opportunity identified for the region involves building on existing recreation infrastructure, particularly the Iron Horse Trail, which already attracts outdoor recreation users to northeastern Alberta.

Sallstrom said the idea would be to expand and connect existing informal trails to create a larger network across the region.

That system could potentially include new loops around lakes such as Whitney Lake, linking multiple recreation areas into a single tourism experience.

The presentation also noted that the region already has many of the natural assets needed to support a larger trail system.

However, developing the network would require coordination between municipalities, tourism organizations and several provincial ministries, particularly when dealing with lands such as grazing leases and provincial parks.

Regional coordination needed

Sallstrom said a key challenge for tourism in the region has been coordinating efforts across municipalities.

“For a while nobody seemed to be going in a concentrated direction,” she said.

With a relatively small population across the region, she added that collaboration will be important when trying to attract visitors.

“How do we make them come here? There’s only 40,000 of us,” Sallstrom said.

Promoting the region’s strengths

While regional cooperation is important, councillors also noted that tourism strategies should continue to highlight the specific attractions and amenities available in the Town of St. Paul.

The regional trail concept is one of several tourism opportunities currently being explored through STEP as the organization works with municipalities to identify new economic development initiatives.

No decisions were made during the Committee of the Whole meeting, but council members said the discussion highlights the potential for tourism to play a larger role in the regional economy.