Howard Buford Recreation Area hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new trail near the east entrance of the park Friday.
It took eight years of planning, permitting, and construction to get to this point, according to Lane County Parks Superintendent Steve Rafuse.
He said the new trail shifts visitors away from a grassland bird habitat and an area that became muddy in the winter.
It also steers hikers from a section that's "a hot place in the summertime," he told KLCC. "The first half of this trail has been rerouted through the forest, so it’s providing that experience for some shade."
Rafuse said accessibility was another major goal for the new trail.
"You can see as you visit and travel down the trail, it’s a much more finely compacted gravel," he said, "so wheelchairs will be able to navigate it.”
Mount Pisgah Arboretum, which is located in the Howard Buford Recreation Area, has track-wheeled David's Chairs available for free rental.
The project was a team effort, using a $115,000 Oregon State Parks grant and about $50,000 from the 2022 Lane County Parks levy, as well as countless volunteer hours from the Friends of Buford Park and others.
The trail is accessible from Ridgeway Road, north of Highway 58.
