SANDUSKY — Sandusky opened the newest section of the Sandusky Bay Pathway on Thursday, bringing the city one step closer to completing a continuous waterfront trail that has been 20 years in the making.
The newly completed section runs from Hemminger Ditch — just west of the Cedar Point Sports Center — to Cedar Point Drive, crossing Pipe Creek on a new bridge.
Kippie Loughlin, who leads the cycling group Sandusky Bay Cycles, said the trail fills a long-standing gap for riders in the area.
"People contact me all the time asking, 'What's the best way around the lake?' And there really was no good way,” Loughlin said.
Loughlin said his group, which has over 100 members who bike several miles throughout town, is eager to put the new section to use.
"We are so excited because it's getting people out and it's getting people together to exercise,” Loughlin said.
Kate Vargo, president of the city commission, said the trail reflects what residents have wanted for years.
"Our residents have been longing for the opportunity to be as near the lake that they can be," Vargo said.
The pathway is a multiphase project building a continuous trail along Sandusky's waterfront, connecting parks, neighborhoods and the lakefront for walking and biking.
Eric Wobser, CEO of the Greater Sandusky Partnership, said the opening marks a significant milestone.
"This is a really big one today for Sandusky," Wobser said.
He said the trail's value extends beyond recreation.
"I think most people view Sandusky as a vacation spot, but what a trail does is it makes it a better place to live and to visit. There are many people, whether they're coming for a week or a lifetime, that see a trail like this as something that enhances their day-to-day recreational experience,” Wobser said.
The long-term vision for the pathway is ambitious. The goal is for the trail to eventually span 100 miles, linking Vermilion on the eastern edge of the region all the way west to Elmore and connecting with the North Coast Inland Trail.
RELATED: City of Sandusky plans 100-mile trail to bridge gap between multiple cities
"We want to continue to help coordinate and plan with other communities so that this can become one of the premier freshwater trails in the entire country," Wobser said.
The current section was funded primarily by a 2022 RAISE grant totaling $24 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation, funding that U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur advocated for in Congress.
"We have to try harder in the Congress to be seen, to be heard. I bring members of Congress here, and I seat them here on the south shore of Erie, and they go, 'Well, we can't see it on the other side.' They have no idea how large the Great Lakes really are, the largest body of freshwater on earth,” Kaptur said.
Kaptur says she is incredibly proud of the region's local leaders for all they have been able to accomplish together.
“We've worked hard restoring our beaches and this area is so beautiful. We have more fish and more boats in Lake Erie than all the other Great Lakes combined,” Kaptur said.
The city expects more than 1 million people to use the pathway each year.
During the ribbon cutting Kaptur, announced she is working to bring a light rail from South Bend, Indiana. that will travel to Toledo, Sandusky and Cleveland.
“We need to do it to enhance business and enhance tourism. In Sandusky, we get about 5 million visitors a year. A lot of people must drive here, and that's okay, but if we had a rail, that would increase business all along the coast. And I think it would make it easier for people who live along our coast to travel to different places between here, Cleveland and Chicago,” Kaptur said.
