After many months of answering the question, “Are the trails open, yet?” with “Not yet.”, we can finally share the good news with everyone that access is coming soon!  As the project coordinator for Yonah Preserve Trails, I gave a presentation to our White County Board of Commissioners about our project, along with a recommendation for a soft opening date.  I am delighted to share that they unanimously approved the date of Saturday, June 02, 2018, from 8am - 5pm for the first access day for the trails.  Fittingly, this happens to be National Trails Day.

Additionally, the trails will be available for access on a limited basis starting June 07, 2018.  The trails will be open for use Thursday - Sunday, 8am - 5pm during the month of June as a test, and the board of commissioners will discuss the project again at their June meeting.  Until the trailhead bathroom facility gets built and the road and parking lot gets paved, the trails will still be limited to access Thursday - Sunday.  The entrance road and the parking area have been prepped and gravel has been spread, and there will be porta-potties available at the trailhead parking area for use.

We are beyond excited to share with you the wonderful work that our NEGA SORBA volunteers, professional trail builder Preston York of Flowmotion Trail Builders and our partners at IMBA Trail Solutions have created, and we are just getting started!  What started as a hope and a dream to have world class, multi-use, natural surface trails to recreate on in our community is now a reality, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you.  See you on the trails!

Clark Neal, project coordinator