Trailblazing East Westwood

Trailblazing East Westwood is a trail construction project set to break ground on the corners of McHenry and Brokaw Avenues. The Goltra Nature Preserve owned by the Hillside Trust embodies nearly 70 acres of land and abuts the Cincinnati Park's Brodbeck Nature Preserve. Money raised will allow a team of youth employees supervised by Groundwork Ohio River Valley to survey and construct a new hiking trail projected to be 1-3 miles in length. The hope is to connect this trail with the Brodbeck Nature Preserve to further extend the trail system while also providing an accessible and safe place for East Westwood residents to recreate.  

February/March 2022 Anti-Littering Campaign to begin with signage placed throughout East Westwood, Youth Workers will be interviewed and hired, Trail Flagging/Mapping begins 

March 12th Great American Clean Up in conjunction with Keep Cincinnati Beautifulat Goltra

April 23-25th Springfest--East Westwood Community Festival offering opportunities to volunteer on trail, training opportunities by Groundwork Ohio River Valley, and walk of projected route with interested community members 

MId/Late June- Trail Work with Groundwork Begins 

June 17th Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit field trip site to showcase trail

Mid/Late June-September Completion of the Trail/Trail Dedication

We are Trailblazing East Westwood for a host of reasons! We have a lot to be proud of in East Westwood. We want to build and share our pride with neighbors, supporters, and the city alike by accentuating our public spaces. This trail project (along with our community mural) will show our community pride and mitigate dumping and littering in East Westwood. The trail will serve as a safe space to recreate and enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of being in the great outdoors. We hope to add environmental education signage along the way (and maybe a story or two on trail) to create awareness and build an environmental ethic. In fact, we hope to connect this trail with other Cincinnati Parks Trails to be a starting point for your next extended day hike! 

With its proximity to Roll Hill Elementary, the trail can also be a powerful asset in creating the next generation of East Westwood environmental stewards. Speaking of environmental stewards, we are so excited to be employing local teens in partnership with Groundwork Ohio River Valley! Leadership development in addition to  trail-building skills, will be front and center. Groundwork will also be working with the HOPE Resource Center (East Westwood's brand new workforce development center) to train neighbors with outdoor maintenance skill-sets to showcase on future job applications.

Much like the trail itself, this project will connect a variety of focal areas to best serve our neighbors and foster community pride. Come Trailblazing with us in East Westwood.