Park planning and wilderness perception
| dc.contributor.author | Bentryn, Gerard Chester | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-08-13T00:08:10Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-08-13T00:08:10Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 1973 | en_US |
| dc.date.issued | 1973 | |
| dc.degree.department | Department of Geography | |
| dc.degree.level | Master of Arts M.A. | en |
| dc.description.abstract | The changing patterns of outdoor recreation, coupled with the startling increase in numbers of recreationists, has resulted in a multiplicity of conflicting ideas as to what wilderness is and how it should be managed. In an attempt to clarify this problem, the interaction of the park site and the recreationists perceptions of the park are studied. The attitudes and perceptions of hikers in Strathcona Provincial Park are examined. A composite mental picture of the park and its trails is developed and mapped. This composite mental picture is then compared with the features of the site. Two of the trails, the Elk River Trail and the Forbidden Plateau Trail, having been subjected to intensive field study, are examined to see what relationships exist between trail features and the points at which hikers believed they had entered wilderness. It is clearly shown that hikers perceptions of the areas they visited differ greatly from their attitudes towards parts of the park they had not seen. When estimating the probability of the existence of wilderness in the unseen areas, hikers indicated the need for a minimum distance from roads and boundaries. When describing where they felt they had entered wilderness, hikers indicated that distance was unimportant, as long as some other barrier between wilderness and non-wilderness was provided. Changes in trail character appear to act as perceived barriers or "doorways" into wilderness. By utilizing site features properly, it is possible to route trails in such a way as to create these perceived doorways, rather than leaving their location to chance. It is possible therefore, to maximize user satisfaction by locating these perceived doorways close to the trail head. Maximum utilization of present parks will help to keep these facilities from being overwhelmed by the growing tide of recreationists. | en |
| dc.format.extent | 101 pages | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1828/17226 | |
| dc.rights | Available to the World Wide Web | en_US |
| dc.title | Park planning and wilderness perception | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
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