Accessible trails are a fair expectation for all Oregonians
November 2022
Klamath County is known for its natural beauty. Klamath County Public Health is always focused on the social determinants of health, which includes people’s neighborhood and physical environment. This addresses housing, transportation, safety, parks, playgrounds, walkability, zip code and geography.
In February, the Healthy Heart Blog on qardio.com addressed the benefits of outdoor exercise and wellness. Among its benefits are:
- It keeps the body young
- It’s good for mental health
- It helps improve sleep
- It boosts a person’s social life.
Recently an article in The Oregonian drew attention to overcoming the obstacles of hiking with disabilities. A related podcast can be found at https://chrt.fm/track/D33B1E/traffic.megaphone.fm/ADLM1146574949.mp3?updated=1666824607.
The featured podcast guest, Georgena Moran, founder of Access Recreation, has experienced trying to use trails throughout Oregon with a power wheelchair. Focused on the Portland metropolitan area, Access Recreation provides information about trails on what is offered, without endorsing trails as accessible to those with handicaps.
There are many wonderful trails throughout Klamath County, and there are opportunities to work together to ensure access to everyone. Public Health is a champion and advocate for the entire community, with a focus on the areas that influence health. People who use mobility aids, such as wheelchairs or canes, enjoy the great outdoors, too, along with those who may not have reliable transportation to trailhead.
The lower section of the Geo Trail is considered Americans with Disabilities Act accessible and features signage indicating that status. Signage and wayfinding are very important for trail users and both are part of the ongoing work of the Healthy Klamath Network.
Again, the social determinants of health have a lot of influence in the overall health and well-being of people. This includes the so called “built environment,” which includes trails, parks, sidewalks and the like. Park accessibility is another facet of having an inclusive and welcoming community.
In the greater Klamath County area, traillink.com denotes there are two wheelchair accessible trails. The first is the A Canal Trail. The website states:
The A Canal Trail offers a pleasant, paved route of just over 3 miles that connects the communities of Klamath Falls and Altamont in south-central Oregon. Traversing both urban and suburban settings, the trail parallels the Klamath A Canal, built in the early 1900s by the Bureau of Reclamation. Along the way, the trail provides access to several schools, parks, and the YMCA, offering a convenient commuting route.
Near its southern end, travelers can pick up the OC&E Woods Line State Trail to go a whopping 109 miles northwest through rocky terrain and the beautiful backcountry of Fremont National Forest.
The OC&E Trail is also listed as being wheelchair accessible. However, only a portion of it is paved. Here are the first two paragraphs of the website description:
One of the longest rail-trails in the country, the OC&E Woods Line State Trail stretches 109.9 miles through south-central Oregon. The route comprises two rail lines that once supported the region's timber industry: the former Oregon, California & Eastern Railway, also known as the Klamath Falls Municipal Railway, which extended from Klamath Falls to Bly (now the main line of the trail), and the old Weyerhaeuser Woods Line, which connected to the OC&E at Beatty and ran to a point just north of Sycan Marsh. The Southern Pacific and Great Northern Railroads managed the OC&E from the mid-1920s to 1975, at which time Weyerhaeuser took over operations for the line. The rail line saw its decline in the 1980s; in 1992, the line was railbanked and handed over to Oregon Parks and Recreation.
A good place to begin your journey is the OC&E Woods Line State Trail's western terminus in Klamath Falls, the largest community along the route. From here, you'll travel an 8-mile paved section that passes through residential neighborhoods and open countryside to Olene (be sure to close any gates through which you pass). This part of the route offers beautiful views of Mount Shasta, Poe Valley, and Lost River. The remainder of the trail is unpaved, with surfaces varying from hard-packed to sandy, to rocky, to ranchland, and hilly; this part of the path is well suited for wide-tired bicycles, cross-country skis, and horses. From Olene, the trail heads northeast through quiet pastoral lands with views of mountains in the distance, reaching Beatty after about 40 miles.
The traillinks.com website lists 56 accessible trails throughout Oregon. As the site is offered through the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, not all local trails are listed.
Accessiblenature.info also includes Collier Memorial State Park and Crater Lake National Park as having accessibility. Of Crater Lake it states:
“Most of the park’s 183,000 acres are in the backcountry, and are generally inaccessible to visitors with mobility impairments. However, several front-country trails are fully accessible, and others have portions that may be negotiable with assistance.”
There is an accessible concrete walkway at the main viewing area for Crater Lake. Another viewing area, the Watchman Overlook, has a ramp to its deck. We didn’t get to them, but there are three short trails in the forest described as “Accessible to wheelchair users with assistance”. These are The Pinnacles, Godfrey Glen, and the first 3/4 of the 2.2 mile Plaikni Falls trail.
Many people throughout the county don’t have access to walking trails or sidewalks close to home, while others do not have easily accessible opportunities. Both are elements of health equity and considerations as we build the healthy Klamath of tomorrow.