Support Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Through the Valhalla Squamish Trail Fund

VPO Squamish allocates all the profits from any VPO-branded products, such as stickers, ball caps, t-shirts and water bottles, to the Valhalla Squamish Trail Fund and uses it to help with the development and maintenance of outdoor recreation infrastructure of various kinds. Murray decided that if customers were going to pay to carry around an ad for his business, the least he can do is put his share of the proceeds toward something that benefits those customers and their friends.

We use the term “trail” as broadly as possible: trails, outhouses, campsites, interpretive signage and climbing routes all require materials, tools and maintenance, and VPO Squamish is here to support. Some of the funds have been spent on a few projects of our own, but most of the money goes to other organisations to help with their initiatives.

When the Mamquam River Access Society established a not-for-profit campground to provide an alternative to the unregulated roadside camping that was becoming an increasing problem, we paid for the outhouses and waste disposal. When the BC Mountaineering Club needed to build a composting outhouse at the Watersprite Lake trailhead, we helped out. And when they had to undertake some major emergency repairs to the Watersprite trail due to a blocked culvert flooding the trail, we helped out again. The Squamish Access Society and the Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association have both received funds for needed work on important climbing areas and trails.

In all, VPO Squamish has paid out about $20,000 in support of these efforts over the past few years, and we’re just getting started on 2021.