Lake Metroparks opens Lakefront Trail to visitors - News-Herald
The first phase of the Lake Metroparks Lakefront Trail is now open to the public, providing visitors with a new space to walk, bike and rest along the shores of Lake Erie.
The paved, multi-use path is 2,300 feet long and 10 feet wide, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation project webpage. It extends west from the turnaround on the pier access ramp at Painesville Township Park, 1025 Hardy Road.
“People seem to be really enjoying it,” said Lake Metroparks Executive Director Paul Palagyi. “Especially since we’ve had a couple breaks in the weather and had some decent weather, we’ve definitely seen people getting out there.”
Palagyi described the path as an out-and-back trail, meaning that it does not loop. It includes a number of benches and low-level lighting.
“It’s going to be a great place to watch a sunset and to see the stars at night,” he said.
“If you’ve never seen a meteor shower out over the lake, when you really can see such a wide distance, that is a really great experience, great place to watch a meteor shower,” Palagyi added. “And we’ll be publicizing those as they come along.”
The trail extends west from the park and onto a property that Independence-based company Kurtz Brothers uses for a dredging facility. The company donated a perpetual trail easement to Lake Metroparks in 2022.
The park district later accepted a bid from SET Inc. to build the first phase of the trail for less than $710,000, according to Lake Metroparks Deputy Director Vince Urbanski. Construction began in the second half of 2023. Most of the funding for the first phase of the trail came from a federal highway earmark, Palagyi said. Park officials want the trail to eventually extend for two and a half miles, running along the lakeshore between Painesville Township Park and Fairport Harbor.
The second phase is the only part of the proposed trail route that does not include an armored erosion wall, Palagyi said. The park district will go out to bid for that project before building the next segment of trail, which will also be located on the Kurtz Brothers property.
Future phases will need to be built on the property to the west, which is part of the former Diamond Shamrock site.
“We’re cautiously optimistic that we are going to be able to continue the trail across that next year,” Palagyi said. The Lakefront Trail is not the park district’s only project at Painesville Township Park. Palagyi said that it recently added a new parking lot on the south side of the park’s community center and relocated the driveway.
The part of the community center facing the lake now includes a walkway and patio area, he said. A landscaper will continue to work on the lawn in the coming weeks to provide an area for visitors to set up chairs or blankets and watch the lake.
Palagyi added that the park was a “very popular place” during the April 8 solar eclipse, even though the park district did not promote it as a viewing site.