Trails alliance reaches out to Sisters

As part of an ongoing outreach to expand membership and participation, the Sisters Trails Alliance is hosting a fundraising and membership dinner on Tuesday, October 6, at Jen's Garden.

The alliance is made up of community volunteers and businesses working together to make Sisters a better place to live by creating a network of trails that provide recreation and transportation options, while fostering health, wellness, community participation and aesthetics.

Since 2001, the local organization has been creating and maintaining a system of community trails within the boundaries of the Sisters School District. The group recently became a membership-based organization and changed to its present name. It operates under the auspices of the Sisters Park & Recreation District.

The organization is responsible for the recent expansion of the popular Peterson Ridge Trail and the construction, in 2006, of a trail linking the Tollgate development to Sisters High School. The Sisters Trails network is designed to serve hikers, mountain bikers, road cyclists, commuters, and equestrians. Each of these interests is represented on the managing board.

The organization describes its trail system as a work in progress and envisions nearly 150 miles of trails. One example of recent improvements is a new spur trail just added along the rim of Peterson Ridge. Another ongoing project to facilitate public use is the placement of updated maps at the trailhead informational kiosks.

Most of the trail and trailhead construction has been achieved by volunteer labor, but the rapidly growing trail system is in need of additional signage, maps, and trail-building tools. Proceeds from the five-course membership dinner at Jen's Garden will go toward those needs.

The dinner event will be held on Tuesday, October 6, at 6:30 p.m. Jen's Garden is located at 403 E. Hood Ave. Tickets for this special gourmet dinner are $85 and include membership in the organization. While unlimited memberships are available, there are only a limited number of tickets for the dinner.

Visit http://www.sisterstrails.com for further information. Free trail maps and tickets for the dinner are available at Eurosports, located at 182 E. Hood Ave.