Known as "Mr. Hiking" in Nova Scotia, Michael Haynes is considered one of the leading authorities of the outdoors in Eastern Canada. His titles include: Hiking Trails of Mainland Nova Scotia, Hiking Trails of Cape Breton, Hiking Trails of Ottawa, and Trails of Halifax Regional Municipality, and most recently: Hiking Trails of Montreal. He is currently working on Trails of Prince Edward Island, to be released in 2014.
He has been a regular contributor to CBC Radio in Halifax, Sydney and Ottawa. In addition to his books and radio appearances, Haynes has published numerous articles about Canada's outdoors, both locally and nationally.
Michael has hiked in every province in Canada, fifteen states in the U.S., Australia, and several countries in Europe and Asia. He tries to walk every day: In the three years, 2010-2012, he walked/ran 15,501,080 steps, or 13,250 km - a daily average of more than 12 km. When not hiking, he orienteers, runs, bikes, cross-country skis, and otherwise to keep active.
In addition to writing about trails, Michael also works in trail development and active transportation. He is the Director of TransActive Solutions, working to improve the walkability and bikeability of Canadian communities, and has worked as a member of the consulting team that has produced trail plans for communities such as Sault Ste. Marie, Chatham-Kent, and North Grenville, and active transportation/bike plans for Oromocto, Corner Brook, Colchester County, and Essex County. Michael has been a presenter at Canadian, Australian, and American national trail conferences.
He is now in PEI, fieldworking his next guide.
