President’s Message - May 2026
Welcome Spring!
Haftarians like yourself are gearing up for another fun season at the majestic rocky woodland we all love. Whether it’s big hikes to experience species-rich escarpment ecosystems, putting your technical riding skills to the test on some of the most challenging trails in southern Ontario, or having fun hoping rock-to-rock during an epic cross-country run, HAFTA’s main goal is to ensure that, whatever activity you enjoy on the singletrack trails, it will be fun and memorable each and every time you visit.
The HAFTA team has already been busy getting prepared for the 2026 season. As the forest becomes alive with singing birds, blooming trees, and sprouting wildflowers, our amazing Trail Captain crew have already begun conducting trail inspections and making some necessary fixes. We’ve also been planning our next major Trail Day – these are bigger projects that require many helping hands. Look for an announcement soon on the next Trail Day.
Many trails within the Agreement Forest and Hilton Falls saw significant flooding during a recent prolonged rainy period. But rain isn’t the only thing flooding our trails. A beaver dam in the Turner Tract broke free recently and caused a large culvert to plug up. That then caused one of our boardwalk bridges to float off its foundation. Thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers, the ‘causeway bridge’ was repaired and the culvert cleared. Our attention is now on the Island Run beaver (again) and preparing how to deal with higher water levels along the long Island Run boardwalk.
Speaking of water, many trails still have deep muddy sections. We kindly ask everyone to limit damage when approaching these sections by not trail braiding or skirting the edge. We’ll be assessing these areas to determine what can be done to reduce mud by, for example, creating sanctioned reroutes, drainage or armoring projects.
Thanks to the generous support of corporate members, HAFTA has raised enough funds to begin renewing our fleet of trail maintenance tools toward battery-power. We’re looking at different options now to ensure we get the best value in this upcoming tools procurement.
HAFTA’s storage trailer, where we keep our maintenance tools, now also has a safe permanent home at Hilton Falls- and with access to electricity. A huge thanks to our friends at Conservation Halton for making this happen for us. We couldn’t be more excited about this wonderful partnership we have with Hilton Falls.
If you’re a member of HAFTA – a big thanks to you too! It’s because of your amazing support and faith behind us that we exist today. We’ll continue to do our very best to be strong advocates and stewards of the Agreement Forest trails you love and that they only improve each wonderful season to the next. Thank you.
Group Rides:
Since HAFTA was founded by a group of passionate mountain bikers, a large majority of our membership continues to be rider based. With that, our Group Rides have generally been well attended throughout the summer and fall. We know not everyone can make it out on Wednesdays, so, we’re aiming to offer more than one scheduled Group Ride each week. But we’ll need your help make this happen! So, we’re calling on our members to volunteer as ride leaders. See the our most recent members email for details.
Paulo Laberge
President, HAFTA
