Let’s Move Outside! With the Erie County Recreational Passport

This summer, Husband Jim and I have been taking our Cairn Terrier rescues along with us on our quest to fill our Erie County Recreational Passport by hiking 10 different trails in Erie County. A collaborative program between Erie Yesterday, Erie County Department of Health, and VisitErie, Let’s Move Outside! is part of Erie County’s pilot initiative as a Let’s Move! county. The program combines public art, local history, and outdoor recreation to lead Erie County’s residents onto a path of healthy living and physical activity.

Hikers, who complete all 10 trails during the 20 weeks between June 1 and October 20, are entered into a grand prize drawing for a mountain bike or several other prizes. That’s pretty exciting, but we really just want to get out and move—and we like a challenge, especially when it comes to Nutmeg and Nora. Furthermore, it’s a good excuse to give our energetic Cairn Terrier rescues an alternative to the same old walking route we trek every evening.

To help keep track of our accomplishments, the Let’s Move Outside! program created the Erie County Recreational Passport, a 4.25” x 11” glossy brochure, which lists all the trails, along with tips and trivia. Each trail’s section includes a short description of the area and details about the trail, such as location, trail hours, amenities (restrooms), parking, handicap accessibility, trail length, trail difficulty, and area contact information.

Registration takes place on The Let’s Move Outside! Website, where hikers enter the 10-digit pass keys, which are found on markers, designed by local artists, on each trail. When all 10 have been entered, the registrant is automatically entered into the grand-prize drawing.

Here is a list of the trails. The ones with hyperlinks are the ones we’ve completed. If you’re reading this after October 20, I hope all of the trails have links!

Corry—Corry’s Trail of Simple Pleasures

Erie—Perry 200 Commemoration Trail

Fairview Township—Pleasant Ridge Park Trail

Girard—Girard Trail

Harborcreek Township—Harborcreek Community Park Trail

Millcreek Township—The Greenway Trail

North East—North East Heritage Path

Union City—Union City Area School District Trail

Washington Township—Veterans Memorial Park/Wainer Park Trail

Waterford—Fort LeBoeuf Trail

Epilogue