Editor’s note: Summer is almost here, and we wanted to know what new things visitors will find in our local parks this year. So, we asked representatives at area parks departments to answer the question: “What’s New This Summer at Local Parks?”
FREDERICKSBURG – A new fitness trail in Fredericksburg offers people the chance to get in shape for free.
This outdoor fitness trail has just opened in Dixon Park, located at 1300 Dixon Street in Fredericksburg.
The ten-station trail was completed as an Eagle Scout project by Ned Maurer. The ten interactive stations include a balance walk, side bend, body raise, leg stretch, hamstring stretch, pull up bar, calf stretch, tension release, sit up bench, and hamstring pull bench.
Visitors will find these new fitness stations along the 0.56-mile asphalt looped path inside the park.
The trail is ADA accessible and is open to the public for all users. Additionally, Dixon Park features a playground, public swimming pool, and a public sports practice field, as well as a new outdoor roller hockey rink, is under construction.
Eagle Scout candidate Maurer began coordinating on this new project with the City in 2017. He raised funds to purchase the fitness trail kit by organizing fencing tournaments in Richmond. He also received donations of concrete from Donnelly Concrete for securing the posts.
Mr. Maurer supervised the installation of the first four stations in 2018 when a group of scouts used pre-dug holes to construct the wooden pieces into their final structure and secured them with the donated concrete. The City’s Park Maintenance Division completed the installation of the remaining six stations earlier this year.
The fitness trail kit was manufactured by Fit Trail and has features that will work all five areas of fitness through an individual’s muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, and body composition.
The equipment is simple and uses a person’s body weight for resistance. There is signage at the beginning and end of the trail, as well at each station with instructions on how to use the trail.
