Take a walk on a path through the woods along Hildebrand Creek and you might forget you’re in Newton.  

The city recently opened Heritage Trail, the city’s first natural walking trail that takes people away from the busy streets for a leisure walk through natural surroundings.

“It gets people outside, out in nature,” said Newton Planning Director Glenn Pattishall.

The trail is about three-quarters of a mile in length, stretching from West Seventh Street across West First Street to Radio Station Road.  While not paved, it’s what is known as a “rock dust” trail, Pattishall said.  He said the trail will be paved later on to make it easier to maintain the trail and also make it more accessible to bicycles.

“It will ultimately provide linkages to neighborhoods, businesses and recreational facilities,” Pattishall said.

It provides another recreational opportunity for residents to enjoy, he said.

The trail already runs next to Carillon Assisted Living and through the Shannonbrook neighborhood. A map will be posted in a waterproof bulletin board at each entrance within the next two weeks, showing exactly where the trails run and making it easier for residents to see other places they can get on the trail.

Pattishall said now people don’t have to drive to Southside Park to use its walking track or worry about nearby cars while they walk.

A greenway system around the city has been planned for nearly 20 years since the Newton City Council first mentioned a desire to create one in its 1988 Land Development Plan.

Pattishall said the city started moving forward with the plans about eight years ago with the help of the Catawba Valley Heritage Alliance, which served as the oversight committee for the entire project.

Initially, the city planned to build a greenway that stretched about three miles from West Seventh Street to Southside Park off U.S. 321 Business. However, when the city applied for a grant from the N.C. Department of Transportation to complete the project in 2003, they were denied and told to start out smaller and work in phases.

City officials decided build the first phase with city funds instead of waiting on a grant. Construction began in May 2006 and was completed earlier this summer.  The city put signs up two weeks ago at the entrance of the trail.

The city is already working on the second phase of the project, which will add another three-quarter mile walking trail from Radio Station Road, back behind the Catawba County Justice Center and out to N.C. 10.  When it’s finished, the walking trail will be about a mile and a half long.

In 2005, the city received a $100,000 N.C. DOT Enhancement Grant to complete the second phase and the Newton City Council chipped in another $25,000.  The first phase cost $75,000 to complete.

Pattishall said the second phase will require every bit of the money to cover the rising cost of materials.  He said the cost per mile is still cheaper than building a highway.  The next phase will take 45-60 working days to complete, Pattishall said.

He said the city still intends to take the trail all the way to Southside Park, but no timeline has been set for a third phase.

“Things don’t happen overnight,” Pattishall said.

Ideally, the hope is that people will also see it as an alternative to using cars, Pattishall said.

“Our society is so automobile-oriented,” he said.  “It’s not like years ago when people had small lots and walked (around town). Today, that’s not the case, we get in our cars and go.”

He said with the walking trail ending on Radio Station Road, it provides an easy route into downtown for people who want to leave the car behind.

There will be a dedication ceremony for the trail on Aug. 29, along with a groundbreaking for phase two of the project.  Some details are still being worked out regarding the time and place.  Look in the Aug. 27 edition of the O-N-E for more information next week.