A man fishes on Buntzen Lake in Anmore, B.C., on Oct. 8, 2017.DARRYL DYCK/For The Globe and Mail
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LandPass, a new app that connects explorers, hunters and fishers with landowners, such as farmers, is hoping to become the Airbnb of the great outdoors.
The vision for the app, which launched in September, 2020, after years of building and beta testing, was to connect people with nature. “The amount of farmland that was once available to hikers, hunters and anglers in Canada has dwindled over the past few decades,” says LandPass CEO Michael Webb. At the same time taxes and maintenance costs for landowners have increased. Webb sees LandPass as a win for both parties, helping explorers access land while giving landowners a new way to offset costs.
The acreage needed to join LandPass is 50 acres, but many farms are much larger, some boasting more than 250 acres albeit with 100 acres often being non-farmable bush. It’s that back 100 that is prime LandPass territory.
Most LandPass properties have trails; some have cabins, small lakes and picnic tables. There is no cost for users or property owners to join the app, but landowners must have OFAH Insurance Coverage, which provides $5-million in liability protection. LandPass takes a 12 per cent fee from the cost of each booking. A day pass is between $150 and $250, depending on the property (and that fee can be split between several friends). LandPass plans to offer overnight passes in the future.
Until recently, Ontario Crown land has been the go-to for outdoor explorers. It’s what the government provides for us, it’s free and it’s our right to use it. But Webb tells the story of a friend who was recently hunting on Crown land, when two other hunters he didn’t realize were also on the property suddenly walked out into his path. “Disaster was averted, but when you book a property through LandPass you have it all to yourself for the day, making for a safe and secure environment,” he says.
While it may sound suspiciously like monetizing the great outdoors, Liam King, who recently used the app for the first time, disagrees. “I know some people gave it pushback, but in my view that’s easy to say for those who have access to private land. But for myself, who’s from New Brunswick, or new immigrants who live in the city, we have no access to private land or a country setting.” He says the app helps with that. “I have a lot of friends who have moved out west to Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan, and they’re finding it pretty impossible to find private land. In the Maritimes we’re blessed with a lot of public land because there aren’t so many farms. But once you leave the Maritimes it’s tough to find places to pursue these outdoor activities.”
A farm tractor and baler sit in a hay field on a misty morning near Cremona, Alta., on Aug. 30, 2016.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
King, who works in real estate and land development in Toronto, used LandPass to go turkey hunting on a farm in the Trent Hills area in April. “I joined an Ontario hunting and fishing Facebook group and LandPass had posted an advertisement,” he says. He messaged for details then downloaded the app soon after. “I was able to go out on a farm that I never would have been able to access otherwise,” he says. “It was a beautiful woodland property. I arrived before dawn and as the light came up I could hear the turkeys gobbling in the timber behind me for an hour and a half. It felt like a privilege.” King says he went home empty-handed but happily exhausted from a day spent doing what he loves.
So the hunters are happy, and so are the farmers, such as Colin Lake, who owns Rawdon View Farms in Stirling, Ont., where he and his family run a 90-head dairy farm and make maple syrup. “I think the opportunity is great for everybody,” he says. “I thought of the idea years ago but obviously with technology today, it’s given it a way to actually function.” Lake says the turkey hunting season has been phenomenal for bookings. “A couple of fellas showed up from the city, they had paid their fees through the app, but also gave us bottles of Crown Royal as a big thank you. I was flabbergasted. They were just so relieved to have found a place to hunt again.”
There are other land-matching apps that have similarities to LandPass. Harvest Hosts connects American RV travellers with farmers, while Tillable helps would-be farmers rent farmland. Then there’s HomeCamper in Europe, which connects campers with parks, gardens and private properties upon which to pitch a tent. But LandPass, whose backers include Bob Izumi, Canada’s only celebrity fisher, stands alone as a centralized platform that provides access to private properties across Ontario, with hopes of moving further afield once the pandemic eases.
The app has a dozen properties in Ontario listed with more to come shortly. “For now what we have is more of a service-oriented product,” says Webb, who quickly realized they’d have to be more hands-on with farmers and hunters as they develop and explain their unique offerings. But a booking on the site is just a few clicks away. “If 10 years ago you had told me you could put your teenaged daughter in a car with a stranger at 11 p.m. and feel okay about it, I would have thought you were crazy,” he says. “But Uber figured it out. Airbnb figured it out.”
And in all likelihood, so will LandPass.
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