https://www.wellenparkjournal.com/articles/wellen-parks-trail-system-promotes-wellness-and-a-chance-to-win-prizes/
April 27, 2022 BY NANCI THEORET, Wellen Park Journal Correspondent
Residents enjoy walking their dogs on the trails around Wellen Park. CHRIS TILLEY / WELLEN PARK JOURNALResort-style pools, championship golf courses and tennis courts — pickleball and bocce in recent years — have become the mainstays of many planned communities. But there’s another amenity that matters most to today’s homebuyers: trails.
“Trails are the No. 1 amenity homebuyers want, and they’re the No. 1 amenity residents use most when they move in,” says Rick Severance, president of Wellen Park. “New residents may never step foot on the tennis court, but they’ll use the trails. The investment in trail systems for generations to come adds value to a community.”
Trails and greenways factored into the home-buying decision before the pandemic, but the need for social distancing and outdoor recreation elevated demand.
On any given day, at any given time, Wellen Park’s 18 miles of trails are often occupied by pedestrians, joggers and bicyclists. The trails, which will eventually expand to 40 total miles, also attract local running and cycling groups, numbering 26 and 30 members, respectively. Bike lanes and paths are wide for enhanced safety, benches and shaded areas provide destinations to take a breather and enjoy the sights.
Bob Colwell walks his dog, Cash, on the trails around Wellen Park. CHRIS TILLEY / WELLEN PARK JOURNAL
The community’s nine existing concrete and asphalt trails are scattered throughout the built areas of Wellen Park, offering a jaunty .67-mile loop around the West Villages lake and up to 6.3 miles circling the West Villages district. Other paths run along Tamiami Trail and Preto Boulevard, loop around Blue Heron Park and connect the future downtown to CoolToday Park. Most of the trail system is multimodal, for use by pedestrians, bikes and low-speed vehicles.
“People have flexibility to run or hike different trails,” says Mr. Severance. “No one walk or run is ever the same.”
Mile markers were recently installed to enhance the experience. And signs with QR codes along the trails will soon introduce visitors to the local wildlife and natural habitats.
“One of my favorite things about running here at night is seeing the flora and fauna,” says Mr. Severance. “I’ve seen ospreys, hawks, the most beautiful birds.”
New trails will open in the next two years, including the 2.8-mile path around the 80-acre Grand Lake in Downtown Wellen, currently under construction, and a second 3-mile route brushing against a large nature preserve and skirting wetlands. The new routes will have crushed shell and natural surfaces.
The lake trail provides changing scenery, taking hikers, bikers and joggers from the urban environment of the downtown area elevated above the water to sloping banks and two island preserves. Side trails skim around the preserves with lakefront observation areas across the water to downtown.
The trail system is an ode to Wellen Park’s emphasis on health and wellness. Future trails will enhance the connection to nature and community with boardwalks, vistas across wetlands, prairies and ponds, and easy access from current and future neighborhoods.
“I love the level of interconnectivity our trails provide,” Mr. Severance notes. “Residents of gated neighborhoods get on the trails and meet each other. The trails connect everybody.”
To promote the expanding trail system and encourage an active lifestyle, Wellen Park is challenging residents to step it up in May.
The month-long “Spring into Summer at Wellen Park” invites participants to walk, run, bike, skip or roller skate their way to wellness in Southwest Florida’s parks and trails, awarding weekly prizes to randomly drawn winners who average 7,500 steps daily or the equivalent in activities, including swimming and bocce.
The free online contest, from May 1-31, syncs with participants’ activity trackers, filling in an interactive map of U.S. national parks as they progress. The first person to complete the map wins. Participants can register under the events tab at www.wellenpark.com. Wellen Park plans to host additional wellness contests throughout the year to further encourage the ever-growing active lifestyle of its residents.
Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate
REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964
19503 S West Villages Pkwy
