Smackdown! B.C. village ditches buggy trail name in attempt to attract more visitors

When Kat Chatten started her job as community development co-ordinator with the Village of Clinton in January, she immediately identified a big problem with one of her local trails.

It was the name: Mosquito Run Trail.

"Not only does it involve blood-sucking insects, it also involves running — which makes it sound like they can overtake you," she told host Doug Herbert on CBC's Daybreak Kamloops.

While locals use the half-kilometre trail regularly, the concern was visitors to the village, which is around 100 kilometres northwest of Kamloops in B.C.'s Cariboo, would not be interested in checking out the path based on the name.

So Chatten pitched Cut Off Valley Walking Trail instead, after the nearby Cutoff Valley Creek — and council voted unanimously in approval.

Rebranding a less-than-ideal name is certainly not unique in the world of tourism or even in small towns.

Sun Peaks was renamed in 1993 because the previous name, Tod Mountain, named for a former Hudson's Bay Company employee, is also the German word for "death"; while North Pender Island renamed Dead Cow Swamp to Magic Lake in the late 1960s. 

David Carter, an assistant teaching professor at Thompson Rivers University's department of tourism management, says people make decisions quickly about whether they are going to try out a new thing — so the key is about reducing barriers to people using a trail, for example.

He said Clinton's proactive approach is wise as tourists start to head back on the road after two years of pandemic restrictions. 

"I would applaud them for trying to make some of those choices, even if it is just something as simple as not promoting how many mosquitoes you have," said Carter.

Bugs only bad in late spring

Mayor Susan Swan was delighted about the proposition when it came before council. She felt the name just didn't capture the beauty of the accessible in-town trail that circles a local park and gives stunning views down Cut Off Valley.

"I was never in favour of the name Mosquito Run," Swan admitted.

The name was chosen in 2019 when the village called out for suggestions on social media.

Mosquito Run was considered a bit of a joke because the trail does go past a bit of wetland and the bugs are notable in late May to early June — but the name stuck.

So far, the switch to Cut Off Valley Walking Trail has been well received.

"A small community can be fickle and I was a little terrified of pitchforks and torches, but so far I've gotten nothing but thumbs up," Chatten said.

She plans to track the number of trail users after new signs go up to see if the change has been successful.