Winter Haven among 13 Florida cities designated as Trail Town

POLK COUNTY, Fla. — For John Rials, there is no such thing as a higher approach to begin his day than at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

“I got here out right here and the solar wasn’t even up. I watched the dawn and I listened to some actually nice music, and I did some extra writing,” mentioned Rials.

He mentioned it’s about with the ability to clear his thoughts and create.

“It’s a meditative second simply to middle myself. Self-awareness and calm from the on a regular basis factor,” mentioned Rials.

MLK Park is a part of the Metropolis of Winter Waven’s path community, which spans greater than 14 miles.

“Our path system, the way in which it integrates into our downtown and connects our neighborhoods and parks and our locations to eat and work and play, that’s what we’re actually happy with,” mentioned Andy Palmer, Parks Planning & Strategic Initiatives Supervisor.

Because of this, Winter Haven was designated a Path City by the Florida Division of Environmental Safety (DEP).

In line with DEP, a Path City is a vacation spot the place path customers can enterprise off to benefit from the facilities and distinctive heritage of the neighborhood, benefiting the city socially and economically.

“We have now a lodge that’s going up proper now. That’s our first lodge downtown and it’s proper on the path system. We have now some flats and our breweries and cafés and eateries are all both proper on the path system or proper off of the path system. They’re all walkable,” mentioned Palmer.

Solely 13 cities in Florida have earned the Path City title. The Metropolis of Winter Waven has a number of extra miles of trails within the works.

“The coast-to-coast connector which connects the east coast of Florida to the west coast of Florida. It’s a community of trails. We’re one path wanting connecting to that system,” mentioned Palmer.