Spruce Management (Camp 29) Ski Trails

Information

The success of the Pine Management Trail, along with weather-related problems (i.e. not enough snow), led the Company in 1980 to consider the development of a similar trail system at a higher elevation, where snow conditions would be more certain. At “Camp 29”, meanwhile, West Fraser was planning to log out some second pass cuts on and below a plateau high above the Wildhay Valley. Oliver Hannula, Woodlands Superintendent and former Canadian Olympic Team ski member, was instrumental in the design of a road system that would later be converted into cross country ski trails. The high elevation (5000 feet) guaranteed deep snow and extended ski seasons. In the fall and winter of 1980/81, the Company began to groom and maintain this trail system.

Later, as the Spruce Management Trail replaced the Pine Management Trail in popularity for cross-country skiing, an extra five-km loop was constructed in a younger pine stand to the west of the trail system.

The trail included sections of very old spruce/fir forests and original plans called for developing an interpretive program for the system, hence the name, but this was never done. The Spruce Management Trails, also known locally as the “Camp 29 Trails” reached its peak in use in 1984, when the Hinton Nordic Skiers Club hosted the Canadian Cross Country Ski Championships there.

The Spruce Management Trail continued to be used for several years after the championship race, despite some wind problems adjacent to the new cuts, and occasional safety concerns when log hauling coincided with the ski season on the Company's Fish Creek Road. However, over the years, young regeneration gained size and vigour and the 1979 cutblock plantations gradually began to ameliorate the effects of wind along these stretches.

A small core of loyal users called the “Friends of Camp 29” continued to champion the Spruce Management trail system, led by Jack Wright. Wright, a retired former Chief Forester of the Company, took the lead role as champion and chief of maintenance on the trail system. More recently (2013), Rocky Morin, and now Neil Halbert (2018+), both retired long-time local Hinton residents, have taken responsibility for ensuring the trails remain groomed during the season. The Company continues to plough the road and provide maintenance dollars for snowmobiles for trail grooming.

In 2000, as West Fraser’s Recreation Program began to ramp up, a number of significant upgrades were made to the Spruce Management Trails in consultation and with help from the “Friends of Camp 29”. In the subsequent years, there had not been a lot of upgrades or changes to the Spruce Management Trail. However, that changed in and around 2020, when new logging took place over the western end of the ski trail. In 2025, talks began between the West Fraser and the “Friends of Camp 29” and it was decided that the whole trail needed a large upgrade with respect to the signage, which was getting old, faded, and falling down. In late 2025, West Fraser contracted a design company to create a whole new set of signs (designed differently) for the Spruce Management Ski Trails – the signs will be installed in 2026.

Trail Maps

The Spruce Management Trail is on the popular “Trailforks” app, but one must search “Camp 29 Nordic Skiing Trails”.

See West Fraser’s “Spruce Management (Camp 29) Ski Trail” map.

Safety

This is a wilderness trail. Please be prepared and use the trail at your own risk. Remember- YOU are responsible for your own safety. As in all wilderness settings, bears and cougars may be encountered at any time. To reduce the chance of an animal encounter, make plenty of noise to alert animals to your presence and carry bear spray. NEVER feed or approach a bear.