SILVER SPRING, MD—This Saturday, May 9, the Montgomery County Department of Parks with agency partners, special guests, trail advocates and others will celebrate the official opening of the new Matthew Henson Trail.
The program of events includes park naturalist-led children’s activities, guided trail hikes led by the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, giveaways, refreshments and a special dedication of the new trail pavilion in honor of Idamae Garrott—the late Montgomery County, state legislator whose support helped make the Mathew Henson State Park possible.
The 4.5 mile, 8-foot-wide hard surface Matthew Henson Trail features 0.6 miles of wooden boardwalk, surrounded by parkland, forested area, thousands of trees and shrubs and the Turkey Branch Stream—restored by the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection in cooperation with this trail project. The trail begins at the intersection with the Rock Creek Hiker-Biker Trail at Winding Creek Local Park on Dewey Road, runs northeast through Matthew Henson State Park near Hewitt Avenue and Bel Pre Elementary School and continues east across Layhill Road to Alderton Road.
WHO:
Montgomery County Department of Parks
Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Montgomery County Department of Transportation
Ken Reichard on behalf of US Senator Ben Cardin
Delegate Alfred Carr, Jr.
Delegate Henry “Hank” Heller
Council President Phil Andrews
Councilmember George Leventhal
Richard Hoye on behalf of Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg
Retired Senator Frank Shore
Retired Senator Leonard Teitelbaum
Retired Delegate Adrienne Mandel
Retired Delegate Carole Petzold
WHAT:
Opening Celebration for the Matthew Henson Trail
WHEN:
Saturday, May 9, 2009
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm (Remarks to begin at 2:00 pm)
WHERE:
The opening celebration will take place in the parking lot behind the Global Mission Church, 13421 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring.
For more information, see www.MontgomeryTrails.org.
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Contact:
Kelli Holsendolph
Media Relations Manager
Montgomery County Department of Parks
301-650-2866