Photo by Lauren Zeugner – The Mail Journal

The bridge, spanning the McConnell-Skinner Ditch, officially opened this fall.  After years of planning and hard work by all involved, this vital link in the Syracuse-Wawasee Trails system is finally complete.  The bridge connects Wawasee High School (and the western section of our trail system running through Syracuse) with the Wawasee Village and Pickwick Road trail sections.  It is now possible to walk/ride from the Syracuse Community Center, to Wawasee High School, down to Wawasee Village, onward along Pickwick Road over the Chinese Gardens-Mud Lake boardwalk, and finally down Cornelius Road past Wawasee Boat Company.

When an additional segment (already in the planning stage) is completed, the Cornelius trail will continue from Wawasee Boat Company and connect with the existing Eli Lilly Road trail that runs to the intersection of Bishop Road and extends north to the CSX Rail Line.

And when final segments of the existing Syracuse Lake trail are filled in, walkers and bicyclists will have the opportunity to choose between short, intermediate and long versions of our trail system, following either straight-line or circular routes.  We encourage everyone to get out and use your trails.