A City of Orangeburg recreation project six years in the making will be available this summer.

A fitness trail is under construction at Summers Memorial Park, located across from Sunnyside Cemetery and First Presbyterian Church.

Buster Smith, Orangeburg Parks and Recreation Department director, says work is slated for completion by late August. The project is being funded with $30,000 of local foundation money and a $15,000 Parks and Recreation Development grant.

“We felt we had a unique opportunity to develop this three-quarter-mile trail in a very natural, beautiful area six years ago, although it took some time to secure the funding,” Smith said. “Our challenge was to design the trail and the associated amenities, and not disrupt the natural beauty of the area. Consequently, we have used natural materials wherever possible.”

The trail covering is mulch made of hardwood and pine that will be replaced as needed, he said.

“The existing hardwood trees also provide a great deal of shade coverage for the whole property. The fitness trail will enable residents to exercise by walking, which is the most popular form of exercise in the United States,” Smith said.

A wooden gazebo, a water fountain, three renovated foot bridges and 12 exercise stations will also be added along the trail, he said.

“The first three stations will be signage that instructs the walker on stretching exercises,” Smith said. “The remaining nine stations will involve various exercises designed to assist in building upper body strength, such as sit-ups, monkey bars and parallel bars.

Jay Hiers, Orangeburg Parks and Recreation superintendent of parks, is responsible for designing the project at the eight-acre site. A diagram of the Summers Memorial Park plan is posted on the City of Orangeburg Web site at www.orangeburg.sc.us/projects/.

“The layout we were trying to get was a natural, free-flowing trail that would be long enough for the casual walker and challenging enough for the serious walker seeking exercise, keeping the trail as close to a mile as possible,” Hiers said. “We ended up with over 4,500 linear feet in total. Users can make it as easy or as strenuous as they need, depending on their stamina and skill level.”

“When we were laying out the walking trail, we just dodged the major trees and followed the natural contour of the land,” he said. “It has some good elevation and grade changes. The natural creek that comes across the property is a real plus.”

Orangeburg architect West Summers says his family donated the land to the city in 1919 in memory of his uncle, Thomas Raysor Summers, who was killed in World War I.

“It was always a wooded site, and my family wanted it to remain a wooded, natural site,“ Summers said. “After Sunday School, I would take the kids there and watch as they ran through the park. I just wanted to keep them familiar with it. I think what the city is doing is good and they’ll do a good job with it.”

Smith says active recreation facilities are being incorporated into his department’s future plans.

“We have incorporated walking trails in the city’s master plan,” he said. “We will incorporate walking trails at the park behind Wal-Mart, and some are already available in Edisto Gardens.”

T&D Staff Writer Phil Sarata can be reached by e-mail at psarata@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5540. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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