The City of Clovis announced on August 1 the cancellation of its annual Trail Fest – a popular event promoting healthy exercise along the town’s trail system.
Yet that does not mean Clovis residents are keeping off the trails this year. Far from it, actually.
According to City of Clovis traffic engineer Colleen Vidinoff, usage of the Old Town and Dry Creek trails in Clovis “skyrocketed” this year in comparison to last year. The numbers, tracked by trail counters that measure heat presences to count people, depict a relationship with shelter-in-place orders and increased trail activity.
Take April for example: The Dry Creek trail saw an 80 percent increase in usage during April 2020 than from the same month last year; the Old Town trail saw a 60 percent increase between Aprils.
And the highest single-day mark in trail usage came on March 22nd, the Sunday after California instituted its stay-at-home order, when 2,282 people walked either the Old Town or Dry Creek trail.
“We were blown away when we saw the numbers, but it made sense,” Vidinof said. “People were hitting the trails, because there was nothing else to do.”
Unfortunately for Trail Fest fans, the spike in trail usage did not correlate to a fourth edition of the trail event, because for one, the Clovis Trail Fest is much bigger than any busy day on the trails.
“At any given Trail Fest, we have several thousand people on the trails, with vendors and small business interacting with them,” said Amy Hance, general services manager of the City of Clovis.
And in a statement on its website, the City of Clovis expressed that “current health conditions do not allow for large gatherings.” Organizers had already moved Clovis Trail Fest from its originally planned date on May 2 to October 10, but a recent jump in Fresno County COVID-19 cases ensured the event’s cancellation.
Organized by the Clovis Senior Activity Center, the Trail Fest allows people to hike, run, walk or bike any part of a three-mile section spanning the Old Town and Dry Creek trails. Along the trails are various stops for snacks, demonstrations and entertainment.
“We could not figure out a way to do it safely, because the purpose of the event was social interaction,” Hance said, “But the goal is to come back next year and do it even better.”
Despite the event’s cancellation, trails have apparently been the go-to place for exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hance encourages trailgoers to remain safe and take necessary precaution if they choose to go out on the trails.
“Whatever our community does,” Hance said, “We want them to stay safe and follow the proper social distancing rules.”
To view daily, weekly, and monthly numbers of trailgoers in Clovis, visit the City of Clovis website via the following link, here.