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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin, cyclists and members of the Kanawha Valley Trail Alliance came together Wednesday evening to cut the ribbon for the trailhead of the Herbert and Gloria Jones Woodland Trails.
The Herbert and Gloria Jones Woodlands Trails, located just off of Louden Heights Road in Charleston, are recognized as the first Community Forest in the city and just the second in West Virginia to be a part of the Old-Growth Forest Network.
The woodlands consist of four different individual trails which make up roughly 3.4 miles, with the longest individual trail, the “Gretel’s Run Trail,” consisting of 1.4 miles in distance. The trails are dedicated in the honor of Herbert and Gloria Jones, who were both known to be avid lovers of the outdoors. The children of Herbert and Gloria Jones donated the 64 acres of land to the City of Charleston in an effort to preserve the rich beauty and history of the area.
Callen McJunkin, a daughter of Herbert and Gloria Jones, says the land was passed down from her parents and tells decades’ worth of stories.
“Everyone is so generous with their praise for me, I just received the gift from my parents. It was in their estate just after they passed away,” McJunkin said on Wednesday. “We all grew up playing in these woods, our kids played, and our grandkids played in it.”
McJunkin says her son, who takes cycling very seriously, would have loved having the trail system at his disposal growing up.
“This was not available to my kids and my son is a serious cyclist in California, but he would have loved having something like this in his backyard,” McJunkin said.
McJunkin also says it’s the details on the trails that can bring happiness to anyone walking or riding through.
“When you’re walking in the woods, the crunch of your feet on the leaves, the sound that it makes, all that is that experience that just makes you happy,” McJunkin said. “There’s so little right now that is so simple that lifts your spirits, so it’s kind of a spirit lifter.”
Jack Hoblitzell, a board member for the Kanawha Valley Trail Alliance and coach of the Kanawha River Wildcats mountain biking team, says the opportunity is there for the taking in the Kanawha Valley for trail system development.
“We have so much green and so much opportunity for outdoor recreation in the valley, but despite all of that, we’re really under parked when you think about it, and we don’t have a lot of trails that are really suitable, on the biking side at least, for beginner and intermediate mountain bikers, places where they can come and be safe and have fun and build their skills,” Hoblitzell said.
Hoblitzell also says some of the new developments in Kanawha County and surrounding areas is an encouraging sight.
“I think having these types of trails here and what the City of Nitro has done out at Ridenour Park and what Hurricane has done out at Meeks (Mountain Trails) is really important for making outdoor recreation opportunities available for people of all ability levels,” Hoblitzell said.
McJunkin says his trail system can introduce children who aren’t fond of typical sports to cycling and the outdoors.
“There are a lot of kids that are not good at football, basketball, baseball, anything with a ball, which was my child,” McJunkin said. “Cycling was something he could do and so, it kind of just all fit together.”