THUNDER BAY – An app designed to help Thunder Bay residents explore the natural bounty surrounding the city is expanding its reach.
The WAYfinder mobile application, developed by two former Confederation College forestry students, celebrated a major update Tuesday.
The app allows users to explore Thunder Bay-area hiking, biking, and canoeing and kayaking opportunities. It includes information like trail descriptions, difficulty, length, directions, elevation profiles, estimated completion time, and points of interest.
With the update, made possible through a $65,800 Trillium Foundation seed grant in 2019, the app will include new features like video, audio, text and image popup notifications. Community organizations will also be able to create their own outdoor education programs through the app.
The app’s founders say they plan to expand it to cover other regions in northwestern Ontario going forward.
A celebration of the update was held Tuesday at the Cascades conservation area, where Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Judith Monteith-Farrell, the opposition critic for conservation and parks, praised the app for expanding access to the region’s natural beauty.
“We live in one of the most beautiful parts of Ontario and this app provides a hands-on experience with nature, encourages exploration, and appreciation of our regional environment,” she said.
The developers received support from the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre, and worked with Tourism Thunder Bay, Destination Northern Ontario, and others on its development.
The WAYfinder trails and recreation app can be downloaded on the Apple store or through Google Play.
