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“Back then, off-road trails were kind
of a new thing,” says retired
teacher Sue Wakefield, recalling her first
trip on Wisconsin’s Elroy-Sparta State
Trail. The year was 1973, only a few years
after the Elroy-Sparta—widely regarded as
the oldest rail-trail in the U.S.—had
opened and a time when the rail-trail
movement was still new.
Rails-to-Trails
Conservancy didn’t open
until more than a decade
later, in 1986.
With Wakefield on the
trail that day were her hus-
band, Lee, and their young
son Tom, then 4. It was the
first of many trips on the
trail and the start of a tradi-
tion for the Midwestern fam-
ily spanning decades and generations. The
Wakefields began their ride at the eastern
end, in Elroy, traveling about 15 miles to
Wilton, with Tom fitting snuggly between
his mother’s arms in a front-mounted
child seat.
In addition to the trail’s beauty, one
thing from those early adventures that
stands out in Sue and Lee’s memory is the
genuine hospitality shown by the small
towns along the way. On the morning of
their second travel day, Lee recalls being
invited to a free pancake breakfast hosted
by the Lions Club in Wilton. To this
day, the club continues to host a pancake
breakfast every Sunday, fromMemorial
Day through Labor Day.
Impressed by the trail, the Wakefields
returned a few years later with a church
group, and over the years shared the
experience with other family members in
a continuing series of bike trips from the
1980s to the 2000s. Being off road with
a comparatively level railroad
grade, the trail proved ideal for
the mixed ages and abilities of
various riders, including Sue’s
nieces, who experienced their
first ride on the Elroy-Sparta in 1995
when they were 7 and 10. As adults, the
girls shared the trail with their significant
others, and Tom—that little boy who rode
on his mom’s bike back in 1973—has
now traveled the trail with his own son.
Today, the trail spans 32 miles and
ends in Sparta, which calls itself the
“Bicycling Capital of America” due to
the trail. Along its path, the Elroy-Sparta
showcases all the unique charms of a
rail-trail: a restored depot, a cherry-red
caboose and—perhaps its most famed
attraction—three dramatic tunnels dating
back to the 1860s.
Still enjoying trails at 75, Sue laughs at
the memory of herself in her 20s meeting
a 65-year-old rider and thinking, “Wow!
He’s still riding a bike!” Biking has been
an excellent form of exercise for her and
Lee and—having just celebrated their
50th anniversary in February—they’re
looking forward to exploring more rail-
trails this summer.
oldest neighborhoods, with beautiful his-
toric homes, but they also have some real
challenges in terms of things like public
health indicators.”
From Druid Hill Park, the network
will extend to the Herring Run Trail—the
northeast anchor for the trail system—
past Johns Hopkins University and the
Baltimore Museum of Art. Then the net-
work will head south on the completed
Herring Run Trail to the Highlandtown
neighborhood, a former industrial and
residential area experiencing a resurgence
in technology, art, investment and devel-
opment through building retrofits.
A trail connection through
Highlandtown to the waterfront has yet
to be made. But a north-south utility
corridor kissing the southern end of the
Herring Run Trail, in conjunction with
an unused rail line segment, presents great
potential for making this connection.
Coalition plans are in the works to turn
the corridor into the southeastern-most
segment of the greenway network. Called
the Highlandtown Highline, this path-
way extends south past Highlandtown
and then swings west toward the Inner
Harbor.
The pathway’s name pays homage to
the southeast Baltimore neighborhood
through which it runs, and hints at the
well-loved High Line linear park in New
York City. “When you think about what’s
going on in that neighborhood now, there
is so much untapped potential that could
be brought to life if there was better con-
nectivity,” Cornish says.
“A lot of the neighborhoods in
Southeast are really diverse and really
thriving,” says Chris Ryer, executive direc-
tor of Baltimore’s Southeast Community
Development Corporation (southeastcdc
.org). “The trail will be a vital part of this
vibrant neighborhood.”
Baltimore’s revitalization story is just
beginning to unfold. As the city redefines
itself through the creation of a world-class
trail system, the possibilities for improved
health, economic development and a
better-connected citizenry are endless. For
more information, visit
baltimore.
Share Your Trail Taleswith RTC
KATIE HARRIS
Sue (center) and Lee (top left)
surrounded by family on the
Elroy-Sparta Trail, 2009
Iconic Trail Inspires 50 Years of Family Tradition
By Laura Stark
COURTESY SUE WAKEFIELD (2)
Sue and Tom, 1973
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