Countywide Trails & Recreation Map
The countywide, interactive trails and recreation map is out! Access it at www.chqtrails.org!
Chautauqua County has a vast outdoor trail network, with more than 700 miles of trails available to the public that serve a variety of uses including hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, snowmobiling, kayaking, cross-country skiing, and more. These trails are owned and managed by various nonprofits, like the Conservancy, as well as the county, state, and other entities. Each group maintains their own trail maps, which come in a variety of formats, sometimes creating inconsistency and confusion for trail users, while also leading to trail underutilization in some instances.
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Many of these entities are members of the ‘Friends of the Chautauqua County Greenways’ (FCCG), a group working to advance trail development, recreation, and conservation efforts in Chautauqua County. Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy is one of the group’s active members, and our director of conservation, Twan Leenders, serves as its board co-chair.
In 2023, FCCG launched its ‘Chautauqua County Trail Mapping Project’ to develop a single user-friendly online map and a mobile app to have all trail data (for both greenways and waterways) within Chautauqua County compiled, housed, and accessible in an easy-to-locate and easy-to-edit online location across multiple webpages. The project entailed updating the county-wide GIS map database, developing an interactive web-based search tool, and establishing wayfinding, trailhead, trail information, and interpretive sign standards for Chautauqua County. It also included improving mapping and marketing efforts for the Marden E. Cobb Waterway Trail.
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In June 2024, FCCG unveiled the online version of the interactive map after a yearlong process that involved input from all trail user groups in the county – including us! The map lets users find accessible trails in all areas of the county for hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, kayaking and rowing, horseback riding, and more! The map is a huge step forward for residents and visitors to learn about trail location, tread surface, parking, trail length, and permitted use. It’s a "one-stop-shop" for all your trail information in the county, and both residents and visitors are assured to get the maximum use out of our county’s amazing outdoor trail network thanks to this project!
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A mobile app for the map is currently in the works and scheduled to be released some time in mid-late 2024.
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For more info on the map and trails throughout the county, join the FCCG on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1166550607137711