Forget mountain biking and snow sports — there’s a “toad-ally” free event enchanting both locals and visitors to Whistler, and it’s set to kick off again this week.

The municipality is currently seeking volunteers to help move tiny Western toads across Lost Lake Park during their annual migration.“I spoke to several families last year who said helping the toads get into the forest was the highlight of their trip to Whistler,” said Whistler Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden. “I volunteered last year several times and it’s actually a ton of fun. People are absolutely having fun — families in particular — when they show up at Lost Lake and the kids see the little toads. It’s very cool.”

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This year the toads are expected to get hopping sometime between July 24 and Aug. 4.

Wilhelm-Morden said while an underpass was built several years ago to help keep the toads from getting squashed crossing the road, some of the amphibians still insisting on taking the high road.

The toadlets tend to be most active in the morning and in the evening. An estimated 1,800 toads per hour can cross the beach trail at peak times.

“These guys are really little. They’re cute. There’s just masses of them, and they need to travel so far,” said Wilhelm-Morden.

To help them make the safe crossing, volunteers wearing gloves scoop the dime-sized toads into buckets and transport them safely across the road.

The municipality organizes teams of volunteers and naturalists and closes parts of the park to protect the toads. People are also asked to not take dogs to the beach, and to be careful when travelling on bike or foot over migration routes.

The resort municipality is seeking volunteers that can commit to a few hours a week to protect the vulnerable toadlets. Jobs include educating the public and moving toads by hand.

This year the Ironman race could coincide with the toad migration, requiring more people to help notify participants.

During migration visitors can also stop by Lost Lake Park anytime between 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on weekdays or 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends to help naturalists transport toads by hand across “high-risk areas such as parking lots, trails and roadways.”

Visitors to the park are instructed to obey all signage. Cars caught disobeying the temporary regulations could find themselves “toad” away—even if they just frogot.



For more information visit https://www.whistler.ca/services/environmental-stewardship/western-toads.