By DOTTY NIST
Panhandle residents love their trails, as was evidenced by the excitement accompanying the St. Joe Company’s opening of a new five-mile trail running from southeastern Walton County into Bay County.
Present at the official opening for the WaterSound Trail on Oct. 31 were officials and staff from Walton County, Bay County, and Panama City Beach, along with St. Joe Company representatives and a crowd of trail enthusiasts and other community members.
Located on the north side of U.S. 98 west of Lake Powell, WaterSound Origins is a growing residential community offering a number of amenities, among those the trail, golf, and dining.
Available for the use of cyclists, joggers, and walkers, the five-mile-long trail runs from the Village Commons of St. Joe’s WaterSound Origins, winding through St. Joe timberlands and connecting with trails in the Panama City Beach Conservation Park.
Jorge Gonzalez, St. Joe Company president for development, commented that the new trail had been open unofficially for a couple of weeks and had already been getting a lot of use. Gonzalez said it was constructed along paths already cleared in connection with the company’s timberlands.
He explained that the trail surface is suitable for all types of bicycle tires.
The trail is open to the public and accessible from WaterSound Origins via Breakers Street or North WaterSound Parkway.
