ON THE TRAIL: RECREATIONAL TRAILS AND FACILITIES EXPAND IN THE REGION

Area trekkers will be able to tread a trail less traveled in 1998.

Compared with active 1997, this year may seem a bit quiet at area parks departments, but the focus is clear: trails.

Change abounded in 1997 for the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department. The Osage Community Centre was completed and softball and soccer fields were built in Shawnee Park Sports Complex.

"We've had some pretty significant changes," said city Parks and Recreation Department manager Dan Muser. "People are definitely using the facilities and enjoying them. The first year has been great."

This year the department will likely undertake just one less-conspicuous project: completion of the Cape LaCroix Recreational Trail. Trails are also being concentrated on at Cape Girardeau County Park, and of course there's Trail of Tears State Park.

The current Cape LaCroix trail spans about two miles, starting at Arena Park and heading south. By the end of the year it should be complete, stretching almost seven miles from Osage Park to Shawnee Park.

"That will probably be our most significant change," Muser said. "We're seeing a lot of use right now with the section that is already done. I anticipate the use to increase significantly when it is finished.

"In terms of facilities, I don't see anything immediately on the horizon. I think what we are going to be doing now is just re-evaluating our programs and continuing our maintenance activities."

At Cape Girardeau County South Park, handicapped-accessible flat trails should be completed this year, said park superintendent Bruce Watkins. The paths will be paved and will have their own road and parking lot behind Shelter 22.

A hiking trail in a 25-acre wooded tract is also in the works for this year.

Other changes at the county park, which is not sports-oriented like some of the city parks, will include a new shelter that will accommodate 200 people. It is being constructed in North Park.

"The County Park is kind of like the front door" to Cape Girardeau and Jackson, Watkins said. "I know that the local citizens are very proud of it, and there's a lot of support for the County Park. We're very busy as far as picnics are concerned. It's heavily used by families and family reunions."

At the recently completed, $40,000 shelter at Klaus Park, "we'll probably add water and flush toilets in the very near future," Watkins said.

While no major changes are in the mix at Trail of Tears, park superintendent Hershel Price said that sometime this year the park will begin preparations for next year's biggest change: a campground reservation system, which should be in place by January 1999.

Visitors will be able to "call in and reserve campsites and reserve shelter houses and also reserve the Scout area," Price said. "We're going to have to come up with some equipment and probably an extra person to help answer phones, because we expect to have lots of phone calls for that.

"I think it's going to be better for folks in that they'll know that they have a campsite when they come to Trail of Tears because it's reserved."

Besides normal yearly maintenance, the park will meet some regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act this year, Price said.

Also, Price said he hopes the park is spared El Nino's wrath and is not plagued by the flooding of recent years.

"We're hoping to have a normal year for a change," he said with a laugh. "We average about 300,000 people a year. Our visitation is right on target."

After last year's great changes, employees at the city parks department are probably looking forward to a "normal year."

After the new parks maintenance building is completed, Muser said some possible projects this year include broadened involvement with the Special Olympics, the addition of amenities at parks, and initial steps toward the development of Delaware and Casquin parks.

But the department will likely be back to its 1997 bustle in the next few years.

On the horizon are a new club house-pro shop at Cape Girardeau Jaycee Municipal Golf Course and an aquatic family center to replace the 40-year-old Capaha Park pool.