Trail expansion on the horizon

County trails are on the forefront of minds as Union County residents enjoy the sunny summer weather. However, a lot of work goes into getting these trails laid, something the Union County Development Association is still working hard at.

UCDA Director Mindy Stalker said establishing a county-wide trail plan is a part of the strategic plan for the Discover UC committee.

“We’ve been kind of mulling over what has been done in terms of trail development,” Stalker said. “We’ve just kind of been recycling the same conversation over and over again, so we’d really like to put something together that we can start chipping away at.”

In order to do that, the committee has developed a survey for community members to fill out regarding their use of the trails and hopes for the future. They also hosted a trail expansion workshop, held last Thursday at Three Mile Lodge.

At the workshop, attendees talked over the survey results before suggesting trail additions. With just over 90 responses, 95% of survey takers ranked trails as a high or moderate priority in terms of community development.

“It was pretty even with how often people use the trails, all the way from daily to monthly,” Stalker said. “Walking was the most-used reason for use, and primary reason was exercise, then recreation, nature observation.”

While paved trails were the preference for most survey takers, there was still plenty of positive feedback for other surfaces, including crushed gravel, dirt and primitive. The top three areas for trail expansion were Creston, Green Valley State Park and Three Mile Lake, with the fourth place a tie between Afton and connecting two or more cities.

All these results were kept in mind as workshop attendees split into groups to discuss different areas of the county, sharing ideas at the end of the meeting.

Working on county-wide trails, Darla Parker spoke on the group’s idea to connect Creston to Afton. The proposed trail continue east on Townline Street after breaking off from the trail connecting McKinley Park to Green Valley State Park.

“Jeremy [Rounds] mentioned going along Townline until it hits the 12 Mile Lake where a former bridge is under water, and then get access from farmers along the west edge of 12 Mile,” Parker said. The trail would continue through the countryside and end up at the Paul and Becky Kelly Family Natural Wilderness Area. “To the Kelly trail, old Highway 34 to Afton, and then loop around back up to the Three Mile trail. We thought maybe more scenic this way as opposed to Highway 34, and safer.”

Francine Ide added their group thought pavement would be the best surface as opposed to crushed gravel, as it’s easier to maintain and find grant opportunities for.

The group focusing on Creston thought putting resources toward trail maintenance needed to happen before Creston trails were expanded.

“We had some ideas for trail expansion, trail safety, things like that, but one of our main things we focused on was trail maintenance, focusing on what we have now and making sure that stuff is safe,” Park Ranger Jason Hyde said. “Creston’s obviously our largest population in Union County, so the opportunity for trail expansion and trail use is greater there. Maintaining what we have is very important.”

While focusing on maintenance in Creston, Hyde said the state park services were still working slowly toward finishing a trail project in Green Valley State Park.

“The west trail has been part of the plan to expand since they paved the trail beside the lake. It was a five-year plan and it’s been about ten years,” Hyde said. “We would never be able to do a crushed trail because we have a special area that’s a wetland. It’s about a million dollars a mile to pave trails on state ground.”

The Discover UC committee will take all this information and work towards a comprehensive plan for the county. Stalker said the committee would start building a map before reaching out for more public input.

“If there’s a property owner and they recognize, that’s my property, I would love to see this happen, or this isn’t going to work, find a new plan, now is the time for them to come forward,” Stalker said.

As information is compiled and plans created, the committee welcomes more input from the community. The survey can be found using the attached QR code or online here.