Sep. 23, 2019
CWU, Ellensburg, and Washington State Parks Partner for Bike Your Park Day Ride and Trail Ribbon-Cutting
Central Washington University President James L. Gaudino will join Ellensburg Mayor Bruce Tabb to cut the ribbon on the newest stretch of the Palouse to Cascades Trail Reconnection Route on Saturday, September 28.
The ceremony will take place at the northeast corner of North Alder Street and Dean Nicholson Boulevard at 1 p.m. The property is owned by the university, which provided access to the land for the trail.
The ribbon-cutting is part of Bike Your Park Day, a collaboration between CWU, Ellensburg, and Washington State Parks that begins at 12 noon at North Adler Street Park (2400 N. Alder, Ellensburg). In addition to the ceremony, the event will include light refreshments and biking on the new trail.
The Palouse to Cascades Trail Reconnection Route (formerly known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trail) encompasses nearly 4.5 miles through Ellensburg. The trail spans over 200 miles from North Bend to the Idaho border.
Recently, through a partnership with Central and grant funding from the Federal Highway Administration's Transportation Alternatives Program, construction was completed on a trail segment of 0.5 miles from Greenfield to 18th. This trail segment has 8 feet of pavement and 8 feet of gravel plus a 10-foot vegetative buffer comprised of washed rock and trees.
Bike Your Park Day is a worldwide event attracting over 35,000 people in all 50 states and over a dozen countries over the past three years. Events encourage people to explore parks and public lands by bicycle on the same day. Adventure Cycling Association, a nonprofit bicycling organization, coordinates the global event.
Media contacts:
• Margaret Reich, City of Ellensburg, reichm@ci.ellensburg.wa.us; 509-925-8657
• Kremiere Jackson, Central Washington University, kremiere.jackson@cwu.edu, 509-963-1221
• Toni Droscher, Washington State Parks, toni.droscher@parks.wa.gov, 360-902-8604