The Bottom, Saba – Much-needed renovation works on the Crispeen hiking trail, the track that connects The Bottom and St. John’s, were completed late last year, and the trail is now back in use.

The Crispeen Trail, an old, historic track of almost 1KM, suffered severe erosion to the point where the safety of people using the trail was at stake. Reason for the Public Entity Saba to take action. Funding was applied for and secured from the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the form of a special allowance for projects to promote nature conservation for an amount of about US $200,000.

The project, which took place in 2019, focused on repairing the urgent parts. Works, carried out by a local contractor under the supervision of the Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF), included the restoring/reconstructing of walls, in some cases with a foundation, the reconstruction of a number of steps and the construction of a concrete path at Midway.

The Crispeen Trail, second in popularity after the Mount Scenery Trail, is popular among tourists and residents, including students of the Medical School. Large parts of the track had become dangerous due to erosion of both the walk floor and the sides of the trail. In many parts, the side walls were badly damaged, and some walls had completely eroded.

The previous reconstruction work to the track dated back to at least 30 years and consisted of emergency repairs. The 2019 project merely concerned the most urgent renovation. Much more funding would be necessary to do a complete restoration of this track.

For now, the aim of the project, namely to make the Crispeen Trail safe again, to be enjoyed by tourists and residents, was reached. SCF Managing Director Kai Wulf, representing the supervisory organization, and Project Manager Menno van der Velde of the Public Entity Saba carried out an inspection of the works this week.