Those in Langford who love spending time in parks are in luck.
Further developments have been made to 35 acres of forest that were formally transferred to Langford’s parklands in July through a land dedication by Westhills Land Corp. to the City of Langford.
The land is part of the 130 acres that form the Langford Gravity Zone and Nature Trails, and Jordie Lunn Bike Park.
“The parks department is continuously considering new biking and hiking trails that promote both access and environmental protection,” the City of Langford said in a statement. “There’s a volunteer trail under construction and a new uphill biking trail planned for the fall.”
The land was previously licensed to the city and is part of Westhills’ rezoning requirement to dedicate 40 per cent of its land as parkland to Langford. Over the past year and a half, the city has built various hiking and downhill mountain biking trails on the 35-acre parcel.
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In addition, the Jordie Lunn Clubhouse – part of Jordie Lunn Bike Park – is set to officially open in the “next six months or so” the city said. The clubhouse was originally set to open in the summer of 2023.
A focal point of the bike park, the clubhouse will feature office space for Cycling Canada and Cycling BC, an outdoor patio, cantina, bike repair area, rentals and community meeting space.
“The shared office space for Cycling Canada and Cycling BC at the Jordie Lunn Bike Park Clubhouse is an exciting opportunity for us,” said CJ Young, Victoria hub manager for Cycling Canada and Cycling BC. “It will allow both national and provincial organizations to strengthen local connections in the community and carry out programs through the shared facility.”
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In the last few years, the city has completed a total of 12 biking and hiking trails in the Langford Gravity Zone and Nature Trails area. This includes the Wildcat Mountain Biking Trail, with the support of a $150,000 grant from 4VI’s targeted regional tourism development initiative.
The area has also seen further development for climbers, said Kris MacLellan, current chair of the South Island Climbers Association (SICA).
“The area known to climbers as the Glen Lake Crag near Westhills has indeed seen development for recreational rock climbing for some time now,” MacLellan said. “SICA and the municipality of Langford made good progress toward collaboratively establishing a designated rock climbing area. This would include amenities and safety practices similar to those seen in other municipalities in the Capital Region.
“Over the last few months, we’ve seen an election of a new council in Langford and a shuffling of staff attached to the project. Progress towards sanctioning the park for climbing has been stalled. We remain confident the project will be fulfilled as envisioned once the municipality is able to return focus to the project. Until then, it is our understanding that recreational climbing in the area continues in an unaffiliated capacity, as has been done for many years.”
The 35-acre parcel of land is located near Langford Lake, Irwin Ponds, Mount Wells Regional Park, City Centre Park and the Westhills YMCA.
READ MORE: New trails open, clubhouse in the works at Jordie Lunn Bike Park
