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Capital Connector Trail Main
Trail Map
Partnerships
Ingham County Parks Main
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Family Friendliness
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Trails provide excellent
opportunities for families to spend quality leisure time
together. Especially in our fast paced lifestyle, it
is important to provide recreational opportunities for
families that are both close to home and easy to access.
With trail users relatively affluent, mobile, and
interested in spending quality time with families,
trails provide a perfect "getaway" adventure. Having
access to trails has changed how families recreate, with
people taking shorter but more frequent "vacations"
closer to home and with a more family-oriented focus (Sjoquist
2003).
Trails have also allowed these escapes to include a
wider variety of family members. Thanks to our mostly
paved trails, and the advent of bicycle trailers,
"trail-a-bikes," and comfort bikes, it’s not uncommon to
see an entire extended family - children, teens,
parents, and grandparents sharing an outdoor
recreational activity. While not an "economic" benefit,
necessarily, this is still an important "value added"
component trails bring to our state.
• Because of their linear design, trails act as a
meeting place for the community. Trails foster
community involvement, and corresponding pride, in
addition to providing an opportunity to interact
with people of varying backgrounds and experiences.
• Greenways located close to one’s home are
accessible to all income groups, particularly those
who cannot afford the cost of a weekend cottage. Trails that can be used easily as a route to the
corner store, or to commute to work or school, will
rapidly become part of community life (Royal
Commission on the Future of Toronto’s Waterfront
1992)
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