Towards Then End of Trail

Jeff Green | Aug 28, 2025

Richard Allen, Manager of Economic Development for Frontenac County, will be presenting a proposal for the build out of the K&P trail, north of Road 509 at Snow Road, to North Frontenac Council this week. The trail has been completed between Lake Ontario and the Mississippi Bridge, just south of Snow Road.

Frontenac County has been engaged in developing  the trail since 2009, and has completed 78 kilometres to this point. The county is waiting to hear back about a federal active communities grant to create a new trail next to Road 509 between the Mississippi Bridge and Station Road as a walkway for Snow Road residents who currently need to walk at the side of Road 509.

From Station Road north to the border with Lanark County, is the final section to be completed in Frontenac County, and it is this section that is the subject of a presentation to North Frontenac Council this week.

“I am bringing a presentation to North Frontenac this week, before even bringing this proposal to Frontenac County Council,” Allen said in a phone interview, “because we were informed just before the July county meeting of an intake from the Rural Ontario Development Program (RODP) that  has a deadline in late September.”

The grant that Allen intends to apply for, on behalf of Frontenac County, is for $150,000. The county would invest $340,000 from reserve funds earmarked for trail development. Allen is asking North Frontenac to commit $10,000, to make up a $500,000 pool of money. This money would be used to upgrade the  snowmobile trail north of Snow Road, to the community of Wilbur, near the Lanark County border, to the smooth standard of the K&P Trail.

The Ontario Ministry of Rural Affairs administers the RODP.

“They see partnerships as a strength when considering applications,” said Allen, “and the best way to demonstrate that is with money, so we are going to North Frontenac Council this week, seeking a motion of support and a $10,000 commitment.”

The trail section that is the subject of the grant has been used by snowmobilers and there is a bridge missing in the southern portion. The bridge replacement project is a separate initiative that the Snow Road Snowmobile Club is working on with Frontenac County, seeking funding from the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs to support the needed construction.

If the grant application is successful, Allen expects to be able to complete the trail to within a short distance of the border with Lanark County.

The ownership of the  final section of the trail is in dispute however. A court case between the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) and a local landowner has been ongoing. MVCA has committed to selling the section to Frontenac County for a nominal fee, but in the meantime everything remains on hold.

“Until that court case is resolved, we are not in a position to go any further,” said Allen, “but if we get this RODP grant, and I am hoping North Frontenac Council sees the benefit and supports it financially, we will basically have the trail built out, and both Renfrew and Lanark County have indicated they are going to complete their sections of trail, and that will make for anEastern Ontario  loop that will draw cyclists as well as other trail user groups,” Allen said.

The last time Allen came to North Frontenac Council for support, it was for a grant to build out the section from Clarendon Station to the Mississippi bridge. At the time North Frontenac passed a motion of support for the project, but said not to a request for a $5,000 financial commitment.

The grant application was successful nonetheless and the trail section was built in 2024.

“I’m hoping that now that the trail has been built into North Frontenac, Council will see the benefit of supporting it financially,” said Allen.