by Patty Huff
Regional Trails have been popular throughout the United States for years, and north and central Florida have been active in securing funding and building trails ever since the SUN (Shared-Use Non-motorized) Trail Program was established in 2015.
Now our area is getting attention with the newly established Collier to Polk Regional Trail which will provide a continuous multi-use trail to include Collier, Hendry, Glades, Highlands, Hardee, and Polk counties. “The trail will connect small towns, natural areas, and working lands to help users experience the region’s culture, environment, and history. When completed, the Collier to Polk Regional Trail is expected to be over 200 miles and will connect to other regional trail systems such as the Florida Coast to Coast Trail and the Florida Gulf Coast Trail,” according to their website (https://colliertopolktrail.com/).
It will also encourage more towns to become Florida Trail Towns. In 2019 Everglades City was the 9th town to be designated in the State of Florida. Now there are 19, and we are still the only one south of Lake Okeechobee (https://floridadep.gov/parks/ogt/content/trail-town-program).
This is an opportunity for other towns along the corridor to apply for designation. Projects like these take years to come to fruition, but we are now moving ahead with the rest of the State. For more information, visit https://floridadep.gov/parks/ogt/content/trail-town-program.
