COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
longtime resident of the city. Looking at the North Platte River today, only a lone oil derrick might suggest that the state of this once industrial river—now so clear and inviting—is the result of a years-long remediation effort. Fly fishers wade its blue-ribbon waters for brown and rainbow trout, and kayakers enjoy the thrills of its whitewater park. In addition to providing access to this water-based fun, there’s a disc golf course adjacent to the Platte River Trail, as well as mountain-biking single tracks, picnic spots, birding areas and athletic fields. Name an activity, and chances are you can do it from Casper’s trail system. In tandem with its use as a recre - ation corridor, the trail system also serves as an active transportation route through the city, linking major employment centers (like the newly opened State Office Building located on a former rail yard), schools, eateries and trailside attractions. Some sections of the river trail, such as the route through Crossroads Park, see a quarter of a million visits a year, a sizable number given the city’s population of about 58,000. “More people are using it for commuting,” said Chris Smith, treasurer for the Platte River Trails Trust Board, who noted that his nephew bikes the Casper Rail Trail each day to school. “We’re getting a lot more connectivity to the point where people can get on the trail system from where they live and go to where they want.” The Next 40 Years With the Platte River Trail and Casper Rail Trail complete, the next evolution of the city’s trail system is improving connectivity from more neighbor - hoods to the two spine trails. “Over the past couple of years, we’ve been focusing on trying to bring trails closer into neighbor -
hoods where people live so that their driveway functions as a trailhead,” said Emery. “We’re hoping to bring these connections into neighborhoods to make it easier for anyone to commute. I see that be - ing a big focus for the next 10 years or so.” “I used to ride road bikes a lot, but I got hit and had a pelvic fracture,” affirmed Smith. “I was in the hos - pital for three weeks, and so I kind of gave up any road riding. But be - cause of the pathway, I can use that to commute to work more safely.” Trail managers continue to stretch the trail’s tendrils farther outward, and have plans to continue the Casper Rail Trail by about 2 miles eastward to Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park, which will include building a major pedestrian crossing over U.S. Highway 26. With construction anticipated to begin as early as 2023 (pending funding), it’s a dream a long time in coming as the potential con - nection to this scenic state park was one of the motivating factors for the original development of the rail-trail back in 2002. Heading north from the rail-trail, another new project underway will take the pathway under Interstate 25 to reach Curtis Street in neigh - boring Evansville. And to the west, an extension of the Platte River Trail would allow trail users to access a new park under development along the North Platte River. The expan - sive open space includes a historic battle site where Lieutenant Caspar Collins was killed in 1865. The city of Casper was later named for Col - lins, reflecting the Army's misspell - ing of his first name. “We want to get a bridge crossing the river from Paradise Valley Park at Robertson Road, which is the farthest west development for the city, to where the Bureau of Land Management has a designated area
PHOTO: (Top) The Platte River Trail offers access to parks, mountain-biking single tracks, picnic spots and the riverfront; (bottom) an art installation along the Casper Rail Trail near the newly opened State Office Building.
that was donated by a rancher,” said Smith. “It’s going to be called Rim Rock and will be available for many recreational activities, like fishing and mountain biking.” Already important locally and regionally, the Casper Rail Trail and Platte River Trail are also part of a national effort to connect multiuse trails across the country. Known as the Great American Rail-Trail ® , the developing route will span more than 3,700 miles between Wash - ington, D.C., and Washington State. Although much of the route remains to be completed in Wyoming, Emery says the appetite for trails in the state is clear. “I’ve been with the organization for 23 years, and I think the public awareness and the desire for trails has just risen exponentially,” she en - thused. “It’s something that people really, really want in our community and in others.” •
For maps and more on the Casper Rail Trail and Platte River Trail, check out T railLink. com™ .
Learn more about the 3,700-mile Great American Rail-Trail at greatamerican railtrail.org .
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FALL 2022 RAILS TO TRAILS
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