First in the state, North Country Trail Association plans dedication April 20
(Canastota, NY – April 2013) The Village of Canastota and the Central New York Chapter of the North Country Trail Association will come together on Saturday, April 20 to celebrate Canastota’s official designation as an NCTA “Trail Town.” The event will take place at Rotary Park, north Canal Street near the Canastota Canal Town Museum at 9:30 a.m.
“Trail Towns” are built on a relationship between a municipality, the Trail, and its supportive volunteers. Partnering through NCTA’s Trail Town program can grow awareness and support for the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST), improve access, provide information to get members of the community active in the outdoors, and boost economic benefits by providing recognition to local businesses.
Together, they hope to build a community that values outdoor recreation for the health of the environment, the people, and the economy. In this case, the partnership will help to establish and nurture relationships that are mutually beneficial for trail users and the public-at-large within the Village of Canastota and the surrounding area.
Mayor Carla DeShaw said, “We are ecstatic that in all of NYS, Canastota has been chosen as the first community to receive this designation. This reinforces our ongoing efforts to make Canastota a vibrant community and at the same time showcase the village’s history and heritage. Canastota is a community that retains its historic links to the Old Erie Canal era and simultaneously is looking to the future.”
The NCNST trail route enters Canastota at the intersection of Route 5 and South Main Street, goes eastward via the sidewalk on the north side of Route 5 thence to the Village Center via the west side of South Peterboro Street (Route 13) to the Old Erie Canal, the site of the Canal Town Museum. This museum has exhibits illustrating the active canal use era, as well as a surprising number of early technology inventions made in Canastota.
From the village, the NCNST route continues eastward along the Old Erie Canal route to Rome, and then to Boonville, Forestport, and via the Adirondack Park to the Crown Point, NY Historic Site at the Lake Champlain crossing to Vermont.
The volunteers of the CNY Chapter of the NCTA sponsor, design, construct and maintain sections of the North Country National Scenic Trail in CNY. Crossing seven northern states, the NCNST is not only a national asset, but it is accessible from many communities, making it a valuable local recreational resource.
Working together to provide this premier off-road walking path is a partnership of trail volunteers, private landowners, State agencies, local towns and villages, the National Park Service, private foundations, civic organizations and businesses.
The North Country National Scenic Trail will eventually extend 4,600 miles – from North Dakota to the Crown Point Historic Site on Lake Champlain; it will be the longest continuous trail in the U.S. (Longer than the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, that extends from Maine to Georgia).
The event is free and open to the public. Use free parking in the paved lot next to the Fire House on East Center Street, or the paved lot on the corner of Peterboro Street and Canal Street—across from the Key Bank.
For more information: northcountrytrail.org and fingerlakestrail.org and cnyncta.org.