Officials on Saturday will celebrate a new trail that connects Red Bank to Stringer’s Ridge.
Red Bank city leaders and the Tennessee leadership of Trust For Public Land are holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the official opening of the White Oak Connector trail.
“It’s providing an in-town, urban opportunity for access to nature, exercise and connection between the city of Red Bank and the city of Chattanooga,” Red Bank Mayor Hollie Berry said of the new, 1-mile trail connecting Red Bank’s White Oak Park to Chattanooga’s Stringer’s Ridge Park. “It’s long-awaited and has very much been embraced by our community already, so we’re excited to be celebrating it.”
The White Oak Connector trail consists of a previously existing gravel service road used to access a Tennessee Valley Authority transmission line corridor from Midvale Avenue in Red Bank, along with a single-track trail built by the Southeast Conservation Corps to connect the gravel road to the trailhead at Ridgemont Apartments and the JJ trail in Stringer’s Ridge Park.
“Although it’s been used informally since before Stringer’s Ridge was a protected open space, the real work that went into it was to formalize that access,” Noel Durant, Tennessee director of the Trust for Public Land, said of the trail.
That work included securing easements for public use, designing a trail that met TVA standards and working with the city of Red Bank and state agencies to make sure the trail wouldn’t impinge on natural resources along the route, Durant said.
(READ MORE: Red Bank considers accepting Stringers Ridge property donation)
Staff Photo / The Red Bank entrance to the White Oak Connector trail is seen on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022 in Red Bank, Tenn. The trail connects White Oak Park in Red Bank to Stringers Ridge Park in Chattanooga.The event on Saturday starts at 8:30 a.m. with a family-friendly hike from White Oak Park to the Stringer’s Ridge overlook and back, about 4 miles round-trip. Clever Alehouse’s food truck and Be Caffeinated will be on-site with breakfast food and coffee, Berry said.
The ribbon-cutting starts at 10:30 a.m. at 2 Midvale Ave. East, and speakers include Berry, Durant, City Manager Martin Granum and White Oak Bicycle Co-op director Blake Pierce, according to a news release.
Funding for the White Oak Connector trail was provided by the Lyndhurst Foundation and the McKee Outdoor Happiness Fund, and the city of Red Bank also contributed funds to secure land for the project. Tucker Build helped make the trail possible by donating its services in the design of the trail, Durant said.
The White Oak Connector is near another joint project of the Trust for Public Land and the city of Red Bank – as well as other community partners, such as the African American Cemetery Preservation Fund – known as “the field,” a long forgotten and recently rediscovered potter’s field on land owned by the city of Red Bank on the embankment next to the connector trail.
Contact Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6508.