Gravitron Trail redeveloped and renamed in honour of the late Graham Haywood

Public invited to participate in trail dedication and renaming ceremony July 15, 2023

Pemberton, BC – With funding from the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD), the Pemberton area mountain bike trail formerly known as Gravitron has been redeveloped and renamed, in honour of former SLRD staff member, Graham Haywood.

Haywood passed away in 2020. He was the SLRD’s Senior Project Coordinator, and had also served as Interim Director of Legislative and Corporate Services. Prior to joining the SLRD, Haywood was employed as a Land Manager with Líl̓wat Nation. An avid mountain biker, he also served as a Board member and volunteer of Pemberton Valley Trails Association (PVTA).

In consultation with his family, the SLRD has partnered with Lil’wat Nation and the PVTA to recognize Haywood.
The SLRD’s Electoral Area Directors (EAD) Committee provided funding of up to $12,000 to the PVTA for the Gravitron trail project in Haywood’s memory. The PVTA used the funding to revitalize the double-black diamond, experts-only trail, repairing drainage and trail surfaces while retaining the exhilarating experience for riders. The redeveloped trail will be maintained and operated by the PVTA.

Líl̓wat Nation has honoured Haywood’s memory by renaming the trail Kacwepcwépa (Ka-kwep-kwep-a), the Ucwalmicwts phrase for “to come back to memory”.

The public is invited to attend a trail dedication and renaming ceremony on July 15, 2023 (1:00 p.m.) at the trail head (adjacent to the transmission tower, approximately 9.5 kilometres up the Mackenzie Basin Forest Service Road) with representatives from Líl̓wat Nation, the PVTA and the SLRD in attendance.

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