Andrew Walker, executive director of the Mountaineer Trail Network, unveils the updated kiosk signs for Mountwood Park on Wednesday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
WAVERLY — Mountwood Park has partnered with the Mountaineer Trail Network (MTN) to update and improve signage in Mountwood Park. Partner organizations include the River Valley Mountain Bike Association, Greater Parkersburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, Wood County Commission, Appalachian Regional Commission, Downstream Strategies and Friends of the Cheat. Starting in summer 2023, MTN worked with partners to implement this signage. The project conducted a detailed mapping initiative in fall 2023 to map the trail system and all of its intersections, and then moved into the signage design phase in winter 2023. During the design phase, said Andrew Walker, MTN’s executive director, MTN and its partners found a way to create standardized markers for trail difficulty levels as well as directions in hopes of creating a better user experience.
“It follows the national ski system in some ways… it was tailor-made for mountain biking and hiking trails,” said Walker. “Each trail is described in one or two sentences. They are also now marked as green, blue and black. There is also a double black trail that we will mark as red along the way.”
Walker hopes that users visiting the trail system and looking at maps or kiosks will have an easier time figuring out for themselves which trail fits their skill level. Approximately 245 intersections received trail markers, two kiosks in the pump house and marina parking lots, 12 smaller map kiosks within the trail system at major intersections, and updated panels at the existing kiosk in Mountwood Park’s main parking lot. Looking ahead, MTN plans to open a $20,000 grant opportunity that the park plans to use for another series of improvements to Mountwood Park through infrastructure updates, including locker rooms, water bottle filling stations, bike repair stations, and benches throughout the park system. Mark Lewis, CEO and president of the Greater Parkersburg CVB, hopes the updates will not only breathe new life into the park, but also generate revenue for the county.
“We are bringing our hiking trails to national level,” Lewis said: “When people come from all over the country and drive along these trails and see the signage, they know they’re in a professionally maintained place. So this is going to be a great benefit not only to the residents of the area, but also to our tourists. It’s also going to generate hotel and motel tax revenue, which is a benefit to us. The associated businesses will also benefit.”
Gwen Sour can be reached at [email protected]
