Westfield trails gain popularity for bikers, walkers
By Anna Skinner
Many across the nation celebrated National Trails Day in their own way, and for the first time, Westfield joined in.
Health vendors, kids on bikes and discussions on trails and exercise took place at Quaker Park on June 6 to celebrate and learn more about what the city has to offer when it comes to their trails
“Westfield has the most miles of trails per capita in the state of Indiana right now, which is awesome,” Emily Clark, special event coordinator for Westfield, said. “We’re really excited about promoting that today.”
There are 85 miles of trails throughout the city, including trails through Cool Creek Park, the Natalie Wheeler Trail, the Midland Trace Trail, the Anna Kendall Trail and the Monon.
Quaker Park is off of S.R. 32 and Dartown Road, and is the furthest northern point of the Monon trail. The Monon is prospected to be continued further north to encourage connections and an easy commute to Grand Park from Carmel and even Indianapolis.
National Trails Day brought many bikers and walkers out, and many of the vendors present focused around bikes and health.
“We have different booths all related to health, just different things that parents and families can walk around and see what’s going on in the community and how they can be more active and healthy,” Clark said.
All of Westfield’s trails encourage walking, running, bicycling and rollerblading. They are open from sunrise until sunset. Many of Westfield’s trails have amenities in addition the beautiful pathways and nature observations, including public restrooms, benches, dog waste stations, bike racks, drinking fountains and parking.
“It’s really exciting to be able to host National Trails Day in Westfield. Our goal ultimately is to be the best connected trail community in all of Indiana,” Melody Jones, parks director, said. “We don’t want our trails to be compared per capita, we really want to have the best connections and this is just an opportunity to show to everybody how fast and how well-connected we are.”
Jones said she believes there are a lot of trails in Westfield many have not even experienced yet. She suggested the connections with the Natalie Wheeler trail, on the east side, and how it connects with the west side of the city through the Monon as one of the trails people should experience. She said once the freeway is done, there will be no traffic interruptions on the entire trail. According to Jones, this connection is just a few months away. Plenty of enhancements and betterment for the trail system is scheduled for the future.
“Westfield’s trails system is second-to-none,” Jones said.
Westfield’s major trails
Monon Trail: 2.9 miles long on the Westfield portion, around Oak Ridge Road to 146th Street, allows connections with Midland Trace Trail, Anna Kendall Trail, Little Eagle Creek Trail and Cool Creek Trail and allows access through Carmel and Indianapolis.
Anna Kendall Trail: 2.1 miles, near 171st Street, connections with Cool Creek Trail, Grand Junction Trail, Natalie Wheeler Trail and Midland Trace Trail.
Midland Trace Trail: 1.5 miles long, close to Union Street, allows connections with Monon Trail, Grand Junction Trail, Anna Kendall Trail, Cool Creek Trail and Little Eagle Creek Trail and access to Old Friends Cemetery Park, Simon Moon Park and Quaker Park.
Cool Creek Trail: .9 miles long, near 151st Street and 146th Street Connections with Natalie Wheeler Trail, Midland Trace Trail and the Anna Kendall Trail, Street and allows major access to Cool Creek Park and Cool Creek Commons.
Natalie Wheeler Trail: 1.5 miles, from 156th Street to 171st Street, connections with Grand Junction Trail and Cool Creek Trail, allows access to Cool Creek Park, Liberty Park and Downtown Westfield.
About National Trails Day
What is it: A celebration nation-wide to appreciate the 200,000+ miles of trails in the nation.
When: First Saturday in June, this year the event took place on June 6
Activities across America: Many National Trails Day celebrations across the nation include hiking, horseback riding, health vendors, children’s programs, rafting and more.
All facts from nationaltrailsday.org.
