NEWS

From the County of San Bernardino

www.sbcounty.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 18, 2001

For more information, contact

County Public Information Officer David Wert

(909) 387-4082

dwert@sbcounty.gov

Mikels to preside over opening of Cucamonga Creek Trail

Saturday promises to be a great day for hikers, equestrians and cyclists as San Bernardino County Supervisor Jon D. Mikels presides over the opening of the first section of the Cucamonga Creek Trail in celebration of California Trail Days.

This 1½-mile section in the San Antonio Heights area north of Upland is the first portion of the trail to be developed by the County of San Bernardino. It follows Cucamonga Creek from 26^th Street to Confluence Park in Rancho Cucamonga. Entrances marked by signs will be provided at 24^th, 25^th and 26^th streets. The trail will link San Antonio Heights to Rancho Cucamonga’s trail system.

The opening ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 21, at the 25^th Street entrance east of Cliff Street in San Antonio Heights. Plans for the trail section date back more than 10 years. Supervisor Mikels made its creation possible by allocating funds earmarked for projects in the Second Supervisorial District.

Motorized vehicles will not be allowed on the trail, making it a pleasant place for those on foot or horseback and for cyclists.

The Cucamonga Creek Trail will eventually run for 30 miles and travel in a north-south direction generally along the creek channel. Development of the trail will occur in segments because it will ramp below three freeways and have to go around Ontario International Airport. It will start at the National Forest boundary north of Rancho Cucamonga and continue south to the Santa Ana River.

The trail will serve as a “backbone trail” for the region. City and community trails will feed into this primary route enabling thousands of residents to enter the corridor. The demand by the public for recreation and open space opportunities has increased during this time of explosive population and housing growth. Today, trails are valued for recreation, habitat, health and fitness, environmental education, transportation, and quality of life issues.

California Trail Days is an official statewide event that has attracted over one million people to blaze trails, attend trail rallies, and walk along historic rails-trails all over the nation.

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