While the pandemic created a national demand for outdoor recreation, residents of Lancaster County had limited options. That’s hardly surprising given that the Virginia Department of Health ranks the county 96th out of 134 localities on its overall health opportunity index, one factor of which is free access to safe places to exercise. For lower Lancaster County residents, the closest free recreation area is Belle Isle State Park, beautiful, but not exactly convenient.
Yet the multi-use Virginia Capital Trail that runs from Jamestown to Richmond saw a 65% increase in trail usage in 2021, so clearly people were responding to opportunities to enjoy themselves outside. That combination of factors was the inspiration for a group of community volunteers—Jimmie Carter, Ben Burton, Gabe del Rio, Ben Estes, Brian Forrester, Tom Gilmore, Julien Patterson and Steven Reiss—to conceive of creating the TriWay Trail.
The plan is for a nine-and-a-half-mile multi-use trail open to walkers, runners and cyclists. Scooters and e-bikes will be allowed, and golf carts are being considered. The proposed trail will add a transformational amenity running through the middle of the county’s designated growth zone, connecting the villages of Kilmarnock, Irvington and White Stone and providing residents and visitors a safe, healthy way to move between them without a car.
Early in the planning process, public support was on full display with the majority of the needed property owners from Kilmarnock to Irvington committing to donate the rights-of-way. A three-week survey garnered 700 enthusiastic responses full of opinions, suggestions and comments, an impressive endorsement from a community of only 5,287 households. From all sides, Lancaster County saw the benefits of the TriWay, which when complete, will be part of the Northern Neck Heritage Trail.
Because of limited county staffing, this initiative is being facilitated by the community volunteers under a public/private partnership memorandum of understanding with Lancaster County. In addition to approving all actions, the Board of Supervisors has pledged financial support and acts as the applicant for related grants. The TriWay Trail, which became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2020, has obtained significant funding for planning, led by a $135,000 grant from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. The goal of the trail is to improve two major areas of community focus: the health needs of the older population and the economic growth essential to the local workforce, making it a win/win for Lancaster County.
The trail will link together a major portion of the community’s key service providers, including Rappahannock General Hospital, the YMCA, the Free Health Clinic and the new public schools. The route is dotted with myriad diversions just off the trail: restaurants, retail shops, ice cream and coffee shops and Compass Entertainment Complex, which features batting cages, rock-climbing walls, miniature golf, movie theaters and an arcade.
But even for those who never venture off the TriWay, the multi-use path will enable residents and visitors to experience the area’s natural beauty by trail. Complementing that will be plenty to see and do. The recently completed Master Plan envisions interpretive signs with historical information about diverse communities past and present being displayed along the trail, along with exercise stations adjacent to the hospital and a public art component featuring a sculpture garden at the Hills Quarter center point. Each village will have a trailhead that will serve to welcome trail users and provide a sense of place, not to mention accomplishment for those using exercise to get from one historic village to the other.
And while the TriWay Trail will be a boon to local residents in terms of quality-of-life issues such as improving health and recreation options, it will also provide yet another draw for visitors. The trail is expected to be a destination for guests of the area’s inns and vacation rentals, as well as a popular spot for locals to take their own guests, a fact supported by the survey results.
Not only will area businesses get a boost from those using the trail, but attracting new businesses goes hand in hand with the creation of new trails. Spoke & Art Provisions Co. opened in Jamestown on the Virginia Capital Trail, offering bike rentals, a café, restroom facilities and a fix-it station for bike repairs, making it a model for how a local business can benefit from and enhance the trail experience.
The construction of the trail will be done in phases and is dependent on public funding.
The easement for the first phase has already been recorded from Harris Road to the Golden Eagle Golf Course, connecting Dream Fields, the new middle and high school campus and the Compass Complex, while making use of existing bridges and paths from the former King Carter Golf Course. A portion of this section has been opened for public use and can be accessed from the former pro shop’s parking lot on Old Saint Johns Road. Phase II will reach into Kilmarnock as far as Town Centre Park on the north and to downtown Irvington, while Phase III would connect the main trail to downtown White Stone. A groundbreaking event is being planned for this summer.
The list of reasons to live in or visit Lancaster County is long, but with the TriWay Trail poised to offer safe outdoor access to all while connecting communities, that list is about to get even longer. Not to mention healthier, and a whole lot more fun.
The TriWay Trail I triwaytrail.org