Encinitas Trails Coalition donates $10,000 to city

The nonprofit Encinitas Trails Coalition donated $10,000 to the city of Encinitas earlier this month for the construction of safety fencing along the El Camino Del Norte Trail in Olivenhain.

The money came from a series of fundraisers held over the last few years by the coalition, which was formed in 2001 to advocate for the use and maintenance of trails throughout the city, with a focus on Olivenhain.

“We began to notice that because of development, trails were disappearing,” said Doug Goad, founder and a past president of the Encinitas Trails Coalition. “So we were trying to figure out a way to try to build a recreational resource in the city.”

The trail system has been particularly important to residents in Olivenhain, a more rural community where trails are commonly used for a wide array of activities, such as hiking and horseback riding.

“You don’t have to be a horseback person,” Goad said. “You can walk, ride bikes. The trail system is designed for multi-users.”

The organization has worked with the city on a number of other projects for the trail system, including the installation of signage and wayfinding and Little Oaks Equestrian Park.

“During that time we also contributed to a bridge that went over a creek that was impassable,” said Linda Martin, president of Encinitas Trails Coalition for the past eight years. “We work with the city a lot to create these bridges, literally and figuratively, in the trail system.”

Encinitas Trails Coalition holds regular meetings throughout the year, as well as special events like the recent ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Camino Del Norte Trail.

“One of our goals is to secure grant funding and other funds for the construction of safety fencing on the Rancho Santa Fe Road trail,” said Jenni Haack, secretary of the Encinitas Trails Coalition. “Rancho Santa Fe Road is one of the main thoroughfares through Olivenhain. It runs right along two schools in our area, an elementary school called Olivenhain Pioneer Elementary and also Diegueno Middle School. There are lots and lots of school children who use that trail to get to and from school.”

Residents and visitors can purchase trail maps at Carter’s Hay & Grain on the corner of Rancho Santa Fe Drive and Olivenhain Road.

For more information, visit trails4encinitas.org.