When the weather gets warm, Brown Countians go outside. Especially when they can take a relaxing walk through nature.
Brown County has many trails perfect for walking, running, riding a bicycle and spending time in the wilderness.
The Salt Creek Trail is a paved trail that spans from the Brown County YMCA to the CVS parking lot. It is .75 miles long and is open from dawn to dusk. The path takes you over a creek and under a bridge, but it won’t take you to grandmother’s house.
The trail is perfect for visitors to get to experience a beautiful oasis in the heart of Nashville. It is also perfect for families with children who want to visit the trail’s small playground. The trail is maintained by Brown County Parks and Recreation. According to their director, Mark Shields, the county council appropriates $2,500 to Parks and Recreation annually for the maintenance costs of the trail.
“The most difficult aspect of maintaining the trail,” Shields said, “is the cleanup efforts when Salt Creek rises and floods the trail. Once the water recedes, there is generally a 2 to 3 inch layer of silt and debris that remains on the trail surface.
“This mucky mess is difficult and time consuming to remove. We scrape what we can from the surface using our snow plow for much of the trail while some of the lower areas require shoveling by hand.”
Shields said there is more maintenance needed throughout the year and that they do a routine inspection of the trail every one to two weeks.
“This (the routine inspection) consists of litter and downed limb removal, safety assessment of any hazard trees or limbs along the trail, evaluation of cracks or damages to the trail surfacing and check for any graffiti and remove as needed.” Shields said.
Shields said that the Brown County Parks and Recreation has a regular schedule throughout the year to ensure they are taking care of the trail. Because of this, the trail is accessible all year.
“From late March to late October, we mow and trim the edges of the trail every two weeks,” Shields said. “During mid to late October, we will blow the leaves from the trail every few days. In the winter, we plow the trail anytime we receive over an inch of snowfall.”
If you are looking for a trail deeper in the wilderness, the Brown County State Park has over 18 miles of hiking trails for visitors and locals alike to enjoy. The trails range from easy to rugged in elevation and difficulty. There are also nearly 30 miles of mountain biking trails for beginners to experts to explore. Individuals with bicycles must stay on the mountain biking trails or paved roads.
We reached out to Patrick Haulter the Assistant Property Manager of the Brown County State Park but he declined to comment.
