The Town of Mount Airy held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the western section of our Rails to Trails walking path on Oct. 15, 2024 at 2 p.m. The event took take place at the Hill Street entrance to Rails to Trails West which is located right off Prospect Road.
Rails to Trails bridges Mount Airy’s past with its present and future through beautifully scenic nature paths perfect for walkers, bicyclists, and runners. The trail follows the historic B & O Railroad tracks which helped build the town into one of the busiest stops along the rail line at the turn of the 20th Century.
After the line was discontinued decades ago, Larry Hushour, a town resident at the time and now mayor, envisioned the idea to turn the abandoned path into a place for the community to enjoy. Thanks to thousands of hours and hundreds of volunteers, the first section, known as Rails to Trails East, was opened in 2014. This .3 of a mile long path starts just behind the former B & O Railroad train station and runs to Watkins Park, a 20-acre community park featuring an all-inclusive playground, pavilions, sports fields, and basketball courts. A couple of years ago, the trail underwent major renovations with the addition of two ramps and a boardwalk making the path more accessible to residents thanks to more than $300,000 in funding from the Maryland State Highway Administration.
Rails to Trails East provides a vital connection to the downtown corridor where residents and visitors can ‘Make It Memorable on Main’ by shopping and dining at nearly two dozen locally owned and operated stores and restaurants while taking in the historic small-town charm of the area.
Now, the Town is coming together for a ribbon cutting to celebrate the official opening of the newest section – Rails to Trails West. This .6 of a mile trail runs from Hill Street to Rambling Sunset Court and provides the residents of the Village Gate community a beautiful setting to walk their dogs, have their children ride their bicycles and get in some exercise while enjoying nature without having to leave their community.
This trail features multiple beloved chainsaw art pieces by local artists Colin Vale and Evelyn Mogren. Each piece utilized trees that were nearing the end of their life span and were reborn into beloved pieces of art. Colin’s piece features different leaves found on trees on the path while Evelyn has two separate pieces featuring a toad, two bears, a beaver and fox. (Photos of some of the chainsaw pieces are on the next page of the release.)
Rails to Trails West welcomes visitors with an incredible archway created by the Frederick-based Creative Metal Design with architecture elements that harks back to the Town’s railroad roots. The trail also features a number of native plantings, a bicycle repair station, benches and much more!
This portion of the project has received nearly one million dollars of funding from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Program Open Space and Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure funds.
