Two new trails in Halton Hills are now open for the public to use, whether for enjoyment or simply as a shortcut to locations around town.
The Birchway Trail is in Acton and the other, called the Black Creek Trail, connects Georgetown's Trafalgar Sports Park (TSP) with the Estates of Black Creek (EBC) near Sixth Line and Autumn Circle.
The Acton trail is the smaller of the two at 600 metres in length. Black Creek Trail is well over double that, standing at a linear distance of 1.7 km.
Town Landscape Architect Mark Taylor said the trail between Black Creek and TSP has a number of features, including the Holy Redeemer Cemetery, a woodlot area and an active farm.
Locals can enter the Acton trail from Birchway Place. At one point, it forks, with one direction going to a scenic lookout with a bench on Fairy Lake. The other side heads in the direction of downtown Acton.
"Whether you're going to the Acton Legion or working your way to downtown, you can get there by going through this trail system rather than just going along Main Street," Taylor said, referring to the trail in Acton as a "shortcut."
Black Creek Trail passes between the baseball diamonds at TSP, connecting EBC residents to the park, Devereaux House and downtown Georgetown. But the trail is not just for the Autumn Circle locals. Portions of the trail have loops for residents who want to take in the natural environment and then double back to TSP.
The trail itself is multi-use, which means that people on any non-motorized vehicle can use it. However, Taylor warned that it may not be suitable for people in wheelchairs.
"I wouldn't call it accessible due to some steep slopes within the Black Creek estate. But there are no stairs or curbs or barriers or anything like that along the trail."
Both trails began construction last fall and were completed around relatively the same time in May.