Now that at least 15 trails and over 700 miles have been mapped out for bikers and hikers in the area, Bike! Walk! Northwest Georgia, a non-profit arm of the Coosa Valley Regional Development Center, has begun posting signs along the roads to designate the trails.

“The organization has been around a few years, but the first thing we did was establish the 15 routes throughout the region, though most were already established,” said David Kenemer, senior planner for the CVRDC, adding this makes them official. “Now they are being signed, and though we hope they’ll be done by the end of the summer, more realistically, it could be next year.”

Kenemer said the project is funded through a contract with the Cartersville Georgia Dept. of Transportation office. He said the goal is to have a Web site where people can look at trails across the 10-county, 35-city region and also to help make motorists more aware they may be sharing a road with a bicyclist or hiker.