OSWEGO COUNTY – A partnership of community agencies is encouraging Oswego County residents to get out and walk on National Trails Day, June 1.
The Healthy Miles coalition has organized a National Trails Day event at Great Bear Springs Recreation Area near Fulton and the Oswego YMCA.
The Healthy Miles partnership includes Oswego County Opportunities (OCO), ARISE, the Oswego County Health Department, Friends of Great Bear, Oswego YMCA, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County, Oswego County 4-H Program, Oswego Expeditions, and Oswego City-County Youth Bureau.
Oswego County’s main National Trails Day event will be at Great Bear Springs Recreation Area from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Residents of all ages are encouraged to visit Great Bear to cycle, hike or walk the trail network.
Virginia Bough, OCO program specialist, said the Oswego County Healthy Miles group has been working for the past few years to make local communities more “walkable” and identify ways to encourage use of existing trails.
The group started with the cities of Oswego and Fulton and is now looking at other communities.
This is the first time the Healthy Miles coalition has organized a National Trails Day event.
“National Trails Day is an annual event organized by the American Hiking Society with the goal of connecting more people to trails and public lands,” said Bough. “It takes place the first Saturday in June. The event was established about 25 years ago and involves thousands of people across the U.S. The Healthy Miles coalition chose Great Bear as the site for the first major event in Oswego County because it’s a beautiful area with a network of non-motorized multi-use nature trails, including a wheelchair-accessible trail.”
Great Bear is located on the east side of the Oswego River 3.6 miles south of Fulton on Route 57 at the junction of Hawthorne Road.
The trail system connects to the old Oswego River Canal towpath.
Partner agencies will distribute Nature Valley snack bars and other items, and 4-H members will demonstrate geocaching at the park.
“Regular exercise improves our overall health and can improve our quality of life,” said Oswego County Public Health Director Jiancheng Huang. “National Trails Day is a perfect opportunity to encourage healthy behaviors and promote our county’s beautiful environment for outdoor activities.”
The Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning has developed an interactive online map which identifies about 200 miles of trails and walkable paths in Oswego County.
The geocoded map is posted on the county tourism site at www.visitoswegocounty.com.
The direct link to the trail map is http://oswegocounty.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html?appid=af44af41ab5642d7958e229a61bfceb0&webmap=8c49d367f7ee44958b92a2935e0174d3#.
For more about National Trails Day in Oswego County, contact Bough at [email protected] or go to #takeahike and #nationaltrailsday.
To learn more about American Hiking Society and its mission and programs, visit https://americanhiking.org/ or call (800) 972-8608.
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