Bear Mountain fee for non-residents to use trails sparks sharp words
Susan Watt is calling Bear Mountain’s policy of charging non-residents a fee and signing a waiver to use its trails a “greedy” move that could alienate the community from other areas in the region.
“I’m an angry resident now,” Watt, 76, said last week. “I have a friend I’ve known since I was 11 and she loves to hike Mount Finlayson, and now she has to sign a waiver to meet me here for a hike. I have another friend who likes to bike here, but there’s no way he’s going to pay $45 to do that for a day.”
“To me, it’s just greed, and I think they are creating a lot of ill will by doing this.”
EcoOasis, the owner of Bear Mountain and its more than 500 acres of golf courses and trails, started charging a $45 daypass fee and requiring a signed insurance waiver for any nonresidents nearly two years ago for golfing and use of its activity centre. The requirement was added for trails last June, and enforcement has been stepped up this spring.
EcoOasis chief executive Dan Matthews acknowledged it has created an uproar, but said the fees and waivers are longstanding. He said adding the trails to the resort pass system was to mitigate its own legal risks on all of its private land on Skirt Mountain, also known as Bear Mountain.
“We held off on the trails because of COVID and the need for people to recreate,” Matthews said in an interview. “But insurance has changed since COVID and we have to follow best practices that our insurance company requires of us.” He said liability waivers are a commonplace for participation in recreational activities and are becoming industry standard.
The company owns the bike trails and a small stretch of trail that connects to Goldstream Provincial Park, which is a midway access point on the trail to Mount Finlayson, a popular hiking destination and view point.
EcoOasis said the fee and waiver will cover a day pass to access the Bear Mountain Activity Centre, which has gyms, a pool, restaurant and trails, with
payers getting a wrist band.
Security personnel are patrolling the trails looking for the bands, and anyone without them who isn’t a resident is being asked to register.
Matthews said staff are educating cyclists, hikers and walkers of the requirements and directing them to the Bear Mountain Activity Centre for waivers and further information. “It’s our hope that people respect that it is private property, so greater enforcement is not required to address trespassing,” he said.
The company said increasing unauthorized hiking and cycling traffic on golf courses and private trails forced its hand, saying
the fee and waiver program meets a requirement of its liability insurers.
The day fees are reduced to $29 in fall and winter, and there are discounts for three to five day passes.
Eco Oasis said hikers to Mount Finlayson can consider other access points other than trespassing on private property, but Watt said it’s not easy for all hikers to start from the bottom of Mount Finlayson.
“My friend is a few year’s more senior than I am and she hikes twice a week with about eight friends,” said Watt, who has lived on the West shore for 50 years — and the last year in a
condo at Finlayson Reach. “It’s so much easier for them to come here, but now … they have to go wait in a line to sign a waiver. It’s ridiculous.”
Langford resident Tony Litke told CHEK News the fee is a cash grab.
“I think $45 is a bit steep for people who want to hike Mount Finlayson,” said Litke.
“All they’re going to do is push people away to free trails, and I think that given most of those trails are community maintained, they’re just going to find that the trails are going to be in a state of disarray for the residents they’re trying to promote it for.”
EcoOasis said it has had consultations with the Bear Mountain Community Association, City of Langford, District of Highlands and the RCMP about the pass program about the legal implications of possible injuries.
“The lands being discussed, where the trails reside, are on EcoOasis’ private property,” said Matthews. “EcoOasis is 100% responsible for the taxes, costs and obligations associated with ownership of this property. Insurance requirements and rising costs, coupled with increased unauthorized traffic, have prompted the need to create programs that manage this risk.”