PHASE I - SHABAQUA TRAIL 45.0 KM (OPEN)

Note: The trail is considered as a moderate difficulty remote recreation hiking trail. Use at own risk. Trail directional arrows, Trans Canada Trail markers, and blue blazes have been installed along the route. Always have a map, compass, and the trail route downloaded (see link below) to your favourite app.

UPDATE: We have rerouted a section of the Shabaqua Trail north of Adrian Lake. This reroute eliminates approximately 3 km. of the Adrian Lake Road. Please be sure to download the latest trail files from our Downloads page.

VISIT OUR DOWNLOADS PAGE FOR GARMIN AND GOOGLE EARTH TRAIL FILES

Projected to connect Kakabeka Falls west to Shabaqua, this route was chosen as our first phase trail. This selection was due to it being primarily on Crown lands, as it was anticipated the approval process would be much less laborious than the other proposed trails. Despite delays due to the pandemic, and staffing changes and shortages at the local Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, that assumption was relatively correct. We received our MNRF Trail Work Permit approval on August 14/23, which then allowed us to move forward on establishing the short "connector" trails needed to take advantage of existing old roads and trails to make one contiguous trail.

We have received approval from 2 local townships for access to roads that are critical to the Kakabeka Falls connection. As the route stands now, the official east "trailhead" begins on Highway 590 at Sovereign Road. From that point it travels northwest toward Shabaqua using a mix of township roads, old unused logging roads, existing trails, and new trails. 

As of this writing, the route officially stands at 46.2 km/26.5 mi. in length. Access to/from the trailhead at Highway 590/Sovereign Road to/from Kakabeka Falls will require the unofficial use of Highway 590. This distance is approximately 6.9 km/4.2 mi. from the town of Kakabeka Falls.

Camping is permitted anywhere on Crown land. Although much of the trail is on Crown lands, Sovereign Road and Fleming Road do have private lands abutting them. It is up to the individual to make sure they are on Crown lands when they camp. There are several road access points which will benefit "day" or "section" hikers. We have identified several good campsite locations along the route with water access, but at this point we have not officially designated them as such.

As sections of the Shabaqua Trail become available, we are migrating them to Gaia.gps, CalTopo and AllTrails hiking trail apps. In CalTopo, we have identified several points of interest including campsite locations, cell phone access, heights of land, shared trail use areas, etc. We intend to migrate it to other hiking apps as well. Link to CalTopo NWORTA Shabaqua Trail

SHABAQUA TRAIL - 2024 TRAIL MAINTENANCE/AUDIT INFO:

NWORTA is committed to providing the best trail experience possible. We are able to provide that through regular trail audits and maintenance outings by our dedicated volunteers. If you experience anything that requires our attention, please notify us via email: nworta@nworta.ca. Thank you!

The following map indicates audit/trail maintenance for 2024 as of 10/14/2024.

SHABAQUA TRAIL - ROAD ACCESS POINTS

 The following maps indicate road access points to the Shabaqua Trail. 

*recommend all-wheel/4-wheel drive for access.

Road Access Points: East Trailhead (Hwy 590/Sovereign Road) to Adrian Lake

Road Access Points: Adrian Lake Road to Glenwater Road

Road Access Points: Glenwater Road to West Trailhead (Shabaqua)

PROPOSED FUTURE PLANS

Our commitment is to continue to expand the NWORTA Shabaqua Trail to connect to Kakabeka Falls, improve safety, and enhance user experience on our trails. We have applied to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) for a Trail Work Permit to construct new trails on Crown lands to mitigate shared use of local roads and snowmobile trails, as well as extend the existing trail closer to Kakabeka Falls. This application involves areas in O'Connor and Conmee Townships, and Laurie Township (south of Shabaqua). The maps below show these changes as proposed.