Travelers with mobility problems can face quite a challenge when it comes to heading out into the great outdoors.

In fact, most hiking trails simply aren’t equipped to handle wheelchairs or other mobility aids.

But in some destinations, accessibility is becoming less problematic, and the whole family can now head out into nature. For example, in Portland, Vancouver, and Salt Lake City, there are hiking opportunities even for those who, technically speaking, don’t hike.

VANCOUVER, CANADA

To get the inside scoop on accessibility in Vancouver, we turned to Mayor Sam Sullivan, an avid hiker and longtime accessibility advocate. Mayor Sullivan, a quadriplegic with limited upper-body mobility who broke his neck while skiing at the age of 19, was instrumental in the creation of the “Trail Rider,” a device that enables people with significant or severe mobility problems to access trails that would otherwise be too rough.

These Trail Riders resemble a sort of wheelbarrow-meets-rickshaw, with two volunteer “Sherpas,” one pulling in the front, the other pushing from the back, providing momentum.

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan

Thanks to this innovation, many of the Vancouver area’s numerous hiking trails are now accessible to all. As for Mayor Sullivan, who has limited use of his upper body, there’s nary a year that passes that doesn’t see him taking an extended trip into the wilderness. Last summer, for example, Mayor Sullivan headed to the Rockies in southeastern British Columbia to climb to Burgess Shale, one of the oldest fossil deposits in the world.

While this area is difficult to access, the Trail Riders will allow people like Sullivan and Stephen Fletcher, a quadriplegic geologist, and member of the Canadian Parliament from Winnipeg, to reach the site. However, Mayor Sullivan pointed out, visitors don’t have to go quite that far: “It’s only about a half-hour drive to reach really rugged wilderness” from Vancouver, he says.

But visitors to the area don’t even have to leave the city to get into nature and do some hiking. In fact, for accessibility-impaired visitors, Mayor Sullivan suggested two strong possibilities for hikes in Vancouver proper. Both parks are more or less flat, according to Sullivan, a bonus for most hikers with mobility problems. Yet both parks also provide plenty of opportunities for interacting with nature.

The first, Stanley Park, is one of the city’s oldest and largest parks. Wedged roughly between the ocean and downtown, Stanley Park offers about 1,000 acres for outdoor enthusiasts. Visitors to Stanley Park might also enjoy checking out the dozens of totem poles near Brockton Point, the Rose Garden (blooming annually April-September), and the Vancouver Aquarium. Of course, if all this natural beauty tires you out, horse-drawn carriages are available to rent ($46.69 Cdn. for a family of four) for a park tour. Do keep in mind that Stanley Park is probably the city’s most popular and can get quite crowded at times.

Then there’s Pacific Spirit Park. Technically outside of the city, between Vancouver and the University of British Columbia, Pacific Spirit Park is even larger than Stanley Park. Since it’s also a bit further from downtown, Pacific Spirit Park tends to have a bit more of a remote “national park” feel, as opposed to an urban park like Stanley. If you’re an inexperienced adaptive hiker, Pacific Spirit Park might be a great place to start.

BCMOS, the British Columbia Mobility Opportunities Society, founded by Sullivan in 1985, operates a hiking program five days a week in Pacific Spirit Park. Hiking is offered throughout the park from Wednesday through Friday; on weekends, the focus is on event hikes to special destinations inaccessible to wheelchairs. These destinations are listed in the Calendar of Events and are always changing to accommodate the needs and desires of participants. This popular program enables wheelchair-dependent individuals to access hiking trials, shallow streams and other obstacles, which able-bodied individuals can navigate with ease. If you’re planning on visiting Vancouver and need accessibility assistance, the BCMOS stands ready to help. Online, visit www.reachdisability.org/bcmos/h_page.htm for more information.

BCMOS also coordinates the “Access Challenge.” A three-day, two-night extreme camping adventure, it is not dissimilar to the city’s eco-challenge where teams are pitted against each other in friendly competition.

As for even more remote hiking challenges, Sullivan suggested the Manning Park Mountain area, with its “wonderful meadows.” While the area is inaccessible to mobility-impaired visitors, the Trail Riders will allow you to reach the more remote meadows.

Then there were the North Shore Mountains, which Sullivan conceded were a bit more difficult to navigate. Still, their ruggedness could be preferable for more experienced hikers.

For more information on accessibility in the area, check out www.disabilityfoundation.org.

To get an overview of trails in the area (and across Canada), check out www.trailpeak.com. This hiking-oriented site allows users to search for trails that have Trail Riders available for use, in addition to offering trail lengths and difficulty ratings.

SALT LAKE CITY

Located just steps from downtown Salt Lake, City Creek Canyon is a popular recreation area for local and visitors alike. This park features a paved road, which is regulated, alternating days for cars and hikers. Essentially, every other day, the road is closed to cars, but still open to pedestrians. The primary trail is paved and wide enough to accommodate the eclectic mix of walkers, joggers, bird-watchers and cyclists.

Not far from the city, visitors will discover an array of accessible outdoor activities at Snowbird Resort. Completely wheelchair accessible, Snowbird Resort’s Aerial Tram provides a panoramic view as it carries riders to the 11,000-foot Hidden Peak. Tram riders can see the Salt Lake Valley below while passing over thousands of wildflowers and mountainsides of green. The roundtrip can be done in 40 minutes, including about 20 minutes of accessible sightseeing on Hidden Peak, though guests are free to spend as long as they wish on the peak.

Snowbird also features a wheelchair-accessible Barrier Free Trail. This nature walk, about a mile roundtrip, begins at the Snowbird Plaza and ends up at an observation deck overlooking Little Cottonwood Canyon and the Salt Lake Valley. Adults and children of all ages and abilities may enjoy this low-impact hike.

Also in the Snowbird area, Wasatch Adaptive Sports offers a well-regarded summer program for children and adults with special needs. Numerous outdoor recreational activities such as hiking on the Barrier Free Trails, fishing, biking, Tram rides and environmental awareness programs are offered in the summer. Finally, Snowbird Resort has built a wheelchair accessible playground, the first of its kind in Utah, which was completed last August.

Located at Brighton Ski Resort, and just up the road from Solitude Mountain Resort, the Silver Lake recreation area features a wheelchair-friendly wooden boardwalk that borders roughly half of Silver Lake (about 1/4 mile in diameter). There are also accessible bathroom facilities located at the lake. Many visitors find Silver Lake to be a nice place to enjoy a short walk or hike, spot wildlife, or fish from one of several docks located around the lake. Do be aware, though, that moose often frequent the lake, and despite their seemingly placid demeanor, have been known to become aggressive when people invade their space.

Often teaming with trout, Silver Lake is a popular spot for beginning anglers and children, and several of the fishing docks around the lake have been designed to make fishing available for people with disabilities. The Silver Lake Boardwalk in Big Cottonwood Canyon also features an information center, with interpretive walks and signs. Free spotting scopes are also located in the Big Cottonwood Canyon Park & Ride lot for viewing local wildlife. Installed a few years ago in cooperation with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, one of the scopes is wheelchair accessible.

For a little local color and history on your outdoor adventure, try the nearby Little Cottonwood Canyon. A wheelchair-accessible trail has recently been created at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. This area offers a glimpse of quarry work that was done here during the late 1800s. Granite stone was taken from this site and used in building the Salt Lake City Temple, one of the most prominent historic structures in the area.

The Temple Quarry trail loops through the quarry area, while providing a primer on the historical context of the work. Along the oak-shaded trail, markings left behind by the quarry workers are still visible in many of the granite blocks. Although the route is short, there are a number of viewing possibilities. Surprisingly, one of the better ones is actually in the parking lot.

In the lot of the Little Cottonwood Canyon Park & Ride, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has installed more “spotting scopes,” which allow visitors to view the goats from a distance (one of the scopes is wheelchair accessible). During fall and spring, a number of mountain goats can easily be seen at that elevation as they descend the mountains to find food. It’s a popular place for goat enthusiasts, since up to 60 goats have been seen at the same time. But it’s also good spot for taking in the cliffs, or even watching rock climbers. The Temple Quarry also features an amphitheater where regularly scheduled presentations explain how work was conducted at the site.

The Salt Lake Ranger District also lists its accessible trails online, with a breakdown of their accessibility features here:
www.fs.fed.us/

PORTLAND, OREGON

When planning a hike in Portland, consider hooking up with a group of local hikers. It can be a great way to get out into nature, while making some new local friends as well. One popular club is the Volkswalkers, who usually have regularly scheduled hikes each week. With 24 walking clubs in Oregon, finding one is as easy as visiting www.walkoregon.org. While not all of the events are accessible for those with mobility challenges, nearly all of them at least list recommendations on the difficulty level for wheelchair-bound participants.

Thanks to the ADA, there are quite a few accessible trails in and around Portland. Two of the most prominent and accessible parks in the area are Tryon Creek State Park and Forest Park. At Tryon Creek State Park, wheelchair-bound visitors might enjoy the Trillium Trail. This barrier-free trail winds through the park for about a third of a mile, with drinking fountains, benches, and viewing decks scattered along it. Visitors who can handle wood chip trails can also try Maple Ridge Trail and the Center Trail.

For more information on Tryon Creek State Park, visit www.oregonstateparks.org/park_144.php.

Forest Park’s Wildwood Trail is a major part of the 40-Mile Loop project, which is a major park project looping around the Portland metro area that includes many miles of biking and hiking trails. This project partially includes the Springwater Corridor (see below), as well as a number of Portland’s other natural areas. For more on the 40-Mile Loop project, go to www.40mileloop.org/

For more information on Forest Park, check out www.friendsofforestpark.org/

There are also a number of paved biking trails that could work for some wheelchair-bound visitors. In fact, Portland is often considered one of America’s most bike-friendly cities. One option that might be particularly accessible is the Springwater Corridor. This former rail corridor winds through the city, linking several neighborhoods to urban farms, as well as forming a long green strip that also links a number of parks: Tideman Johnson Nature Park, Leach Botanical Garden, Powell Butte Nature Park, and Gresham’s Main City Park.

For accessible overnight camping and several days of hiking, try Timothy Lake in Oregon. Near Mt. Hood and far from the bustle of Portland, this remote lake is a favorite of fisherman — at least partly because the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife stocks it with thousands of rainbow trout every year. While many sections of the Mount Hood National Forest are a bit difficult to access, the Timothy Lake Loop meanders around the lake and passes four different campgrounds.

Additional resources for accessible hiking and camping are available through state and local parks departments. The Oregon State Parks department can provide directions to, and further information about, accessible locations. Visit www.oregonstateparks.org or call (503) 731-3293.

For individuals experiencing mobility limitations and who are looking for a more “off-the-paved-trail” or adventurous opportunity, they may want to try the new “Adventurer” hiker’s chair. Like Vancouver Mayor Sullivan’s Trail Rider, this device makes hiking on non-wheelchair accessible trails a relative cinch. The Adventurer weighs 42 pounds and can be wheeled through terrain with roots, ruts and rocks with the help of two people, with one person pushing and one person pulling. To get more information about using this device, please visit www.ezhiker.com

NATIONWIDE

If you’re interested in finding accessible hiking spots across the nation, a number of resources are being developed to help. One of the most interesting is a non-profit group called “Boundless Playgrounds,” which specializes in creating playgrounds that are accessible to everyone. On their website, www.boundlessplaygrounds.org, you can find a playground in your destination state. Alternately, if there isn’t one currently available, projects in the fundraising stage are also listed so you can donate to a project near you.

The U.S. Forest Service also has a lot of information on the accessibility of the parks under their jurisdiction. Today, most parks have at least something in terms of accessibility features, but of course, some are harder to find, depending on the park. The general site for the Forest Service is www.fs.fed.us/, but the amount of accessibility information varies by state with some (like Oregon and Utah) doing a pretty good job of spelling out specific amenities, and others, less so. Still, if you’re interested in getting out into nature and need accessibility information, it’s a good place to start.

By Matthew Calcara for PeterGreenberg.com.

For more on accessible travel, check out America’s Accessible Heritage.

We’ve also got additional Accessible Travel Resources.