Village, park district to celebrate trail improvement

In honor of the longawaited paving of the southern section of The Maple Highlands Trail, Middlefield Village and the Geauga Park District invite are inviting the public to attend the Maple Highlands Spring Opening Celebration and Trail Ribbon-Cutting Event on April 21.

The event will take place at 10 a.m. in the Middlefield Pocket Park on the corner of routes 608 and 87.

After a brief ceremony, guests will take a walk to the trail itself, located near the fire station, for a ribboncutting, according to a news release. Scheduled speakers include Middlefield Mayor Ben Garlich; Geauga Park District Executive Director John Oros; and Alan Yoder, a member of the Amish community and Old Order Amish Safety Committee.

“We are excited to have The Maple Highlands TrailSouth paving come to fruition,” Garlich said in the news release. “This project opens up recreation activities for all of our residents.”

“Geauga Park District also looks forward to celebrating these improvements,” added Executive Director Oros in the release. “To see the trail run through the village is definitely rewarding. As a resident of Middlefield Township, it’s also great this resource is being used by more and more residents in the southeast corner of Geauga County.”

With 6.4 miles of paved trail from Geauga Park District’s Headwaters Park to Swine Creek Reservation, The Maple Highlands TrailSouth includes 3.5 miles that is owned by the village, the release stated. Users also travel a half mile through the village itself.

In addition to provisions for recreation including biking, rollerblading and walking, this trail section also provides the local Amish community with safer travel into Middlefield by allowing horses and buggies to avoid main roadways, the release stated.

The new asphalt paving was completed late last year.

“The trail is now paved in its entirety,” Oros said. “It’s over 20 miles now, stretching from the Lake County line in Chardon Township to Swine Creek Reservation in Middlefield Township. Now that spring is here, we expect the trail will be even more popular. We hope you enjoy this new amenity.”