Published: March 24, 2008 12:44 pm            

State trails conference hosted in Oak Hill

OAK HILL — West Virginia offers more than 3,000 miles of recreational trails for all types of users, according to Bill Robinson, a state trail coordinator for the state Department of Transportation.

“Trails can help a community both economically and recreationally,” he said.

Getting those with an interest in West Virginia’s trails together is a goal of the annual state trails conference held last week at the Lewis Christian Community Center and the Holiday Inn in Oak Hill.

“The 2008 West Virginia State Trails Conference is being held this year just a few yards from the brand new, five-mile White Oak Rail Trail and only a few miles from the beautiful New River Gorge National River,” Robinson said. “We’re here talking to interested agencies, organizations and individuals regarding topics that include securing funding for trails, obtaining right-of-ways for trails and how to market and develop trails.”

This year’s conference focused on rail trails, like the new one in Oak Hill, Robinson said.

“This is where they take the old railway right-of-ways and turn them into long distance trails,” he said.

Some of the state’s trails are as long as 75 miles, like the Greenbrier River Trail, according to Robinson.

The new White Oak Rail Trail starts at the entrance to Collinwood Acres on W.Va. 61, just outside Oak Hill and moves alongside W.Va. 61 toward Collins Middle School. At the middle school it crosses Jones Avenue and continues along Virginia Street, just past the historic White Oak Train Depot and the Oak Hill Fire Department. It passes the fire department and just before the Pizza Hut it crosses Virginia Street and continues through the woods toward Summerlee and then ends at Lochgelly. There is also an additional leg of the trail that veers off from Collins Middle School and goes along behind Collins Park and on toward Whipple. The new trail is open to the public, but won’t be paved until late this spring.

Robinson says the state has developed a state-wide trail plan.

“West Virginia is blessed with one of the most beautiful landscapes in the United States, but it is a landscape that is often inaccessible to visitors and state residents,” he said. “The purpose of the statewide trail plan is to provide a guide for making the wonders of West Virginia accessible to all kinds of people, for all kinds of uses, without compromising the natural, historical or cultural integrity of West Virginia.”

Robinson says as the state’s tourism industry continues to grow West Virginia will continue to find itself challenged to increase access to its beautiful landscapes while protecting it from over-development and preserving its unique history, heritage and people.

The conference was sponsored by the West Virginia DOT, using funds from the Federal Highway Administration, Robinson said.

For more information about the state’s trails program, visit the online Web site link at http://www.wvdot.com/3_ROADWAYS/rp/3d5_trails.htm.

— E-mail: fpace@register-herald.com

        

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