LEXINGTON — Community members came together on Sept. 13 to celebrate the opening of a new walking trail that had been in the works for more than a decade. The 1.
15-mile Old Mill Pond trail will serve as a place for families to enjoy the outdoors, said Lexington Mayor Hazel Livingston. “I’m so excited,” Livingston told The Post and Courier at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. “I think it’s a positive.
Places like this encourage relationships and community.” The walking trail was part of Lexington's 2012 "Vision Plan," which prioritized maintaining the downtown and Main Street area as the heart of the town while also focusing on intentional and sustainable development. The trail project was delayed in 2015 after a historic rainfall hit the region.
The Midlands and surrounding areas saw as much as 20 inches of rain over a five-day period in early October of that year. The flood caused 36 regulated dams to fail, including the one at Old Mill Pond in Lexington. The Old Mill Pond Trail on Sept.
13. A map showing the Old Mill Pond Trail on Sept. 13.
The trail is the latest in a series of projects that the town has undertaken to create community spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy. In 2016, Lexington opened the Icehouse Amphitheater , which has become a popular space for concerts and other events. Virginia Hylton Park reopened earlier this year after a years-long renovation project that improved its facilities and expanded the park's footprint and trails.
People walking the Old Mill Pond Trail on Sept. 13. Council member Gavin Smith said green spaces like Virginia Hylton Park and Old Mill Pond Trail can improve quality of life.
“Nearly every time I speak with our citizens, they share their excitement about the improvements we’re making to our green spaces,” Smith told The Post and Courier. “This new trail at Old Mill Pond is a perfect example of how we’re enhancing the beauty and quality of life in our town.”.
