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Headwaters Trail System (2023) Print
2023 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Park enhancements
└ Park enhancements
Older adults using a popular walking loop in Three Forks lacked outdoor fitness options, especially for recovery after surgeries. To address this, the organization installed nine durable exercise stations-including torso twist, sky walker and dip bars-next to the level trail and near parking for easy access. The equipment creates a lasting resource for strength-building and rehabilitation in a natural setting. Feedback from users shows excitement among residents, and its metal design ensures long-term use for older adults seeking safe outdoor exercise.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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Ferrum, VA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Friends of Ferrum Park responded to the lack of safe, accessible outdoor space that had limited physical activity and social connection for older adults in this rural community. The project built the first section of an ADA-accessible walking trail, a quarter-mile crushed-gravel path with stable surfaces, space for side-by-side walking, benches for rest and accessible parking at the trailhead. Volunteers, including older adults, helped install the improvements, reinforcing community ownership. The new trail created a permanent, no-cost place to walk, meet neighbors and attend events. Early use shows older adults returning for gentle daily activity that was not possible before. One regular visitor shared that the smoother surface let him walk farther and maintain routines that matter, setting the stage for future accessibility improvements.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Yuma, AZ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Part of larger efforts to foster ecotourism and give residents a free, outdoor public gathering space, this project created seating for a new nature park in Yuma's wetlands. Sunset View Nature Park sits along the waterfront and connects to five miles of biking and walking trails. Volunteers constructed ADA-accessible picnic tables, metal and concrete benches and bike racks for the site. Organizers say older adults are frequent visitors to Yuma's wetland area, which offers bird watching and other recreation opportunities. Since adding the amenities, Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area has continued work on the nature park, extending trails and constructing a scenic overlook.
Osceola, AR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Osceola's Rosenwald Park has a popular playground and is located near the county's older adult residential and recreational facility but has always lacked a paved path and sufficient shade for visitors in the hotter months. To improve the park, the City of Osceola built an ADA-accessible walking track that encircles the playground and links it to the sidewalk at the Mississippi County Senior Center. Meanwhile, city planners also worked with a community donor to plant more than a dozen red oaks, which provide a lush, sustainable shade canopy. Organizers say the upgrades have made the park more user friendly for visitors of all ages and abilities.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Three Forks, MT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Trails
Description: The City of Three Forks improved its Headwaters Trail system by installing benches and bike racks, as well as signage displaying trail directions and mileage. Project organizers placed the new benches at prime locations for viewing wildlife. The City also modified the pavement where trails cross local streets to make them easily passable for wheelchair users. These improvements helped bolster community support for the Jefferson Trail Loop -- a new trail within the Headwaters system.
Bozeman, MT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: The City of Bozeman partnered with the Western Transportation Institute to create a pop-up trailer, which they lend to community groups who want to test out street concepts and advocate for permanent changes. The toolkit contains materials for temporary demonstrations, such as straw wattles, planter boxes, pavement paint and tires. These are useful for creating curb extensions and pedestrian islands -- features that calm traffic by narrowing lanes and increasing the visibility of cyclists and pedestrians. The City deployed the kit at the intersection of Tamarack and North Tracy, where residents often complain about speeding. Located near a park, senior center and the county fairgrounds, the intersection is popular with pedestrians and cyclists. When the City polled passersby about the interventions, two-thirds of the feedback they heard was positive. The City also set up radar speed detection equipment, which showed slower vehicle speeds during pop-up project.
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