The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has opened its first Braille Trail at Wingfoot Lake State Park in Mogadore, the department announced in a news release reported Nov. 5. The quarter-mile loop is the first trail of its kind in the Ohio State Parks system, built so visitors who are blind or have low vision — and visitors with mobility or sensory needs — can experience the outdoors more independently.
ODNR developed the trail from an existing earthen meadow trail into a 36-inch-wide gravel path near the park’s Nature Center, according to the release. The loop includes a self-guiding rope, interpretive signs in braille, and QR codes linked to audio descriptions, the department said.
Six educational panels along the loop highlight wildlife and natural features, including white-tailed deer, bald eagles, meadows and the Goodyear Blimp, and each panel incorporates 3D-printed tactile elements, ODNR said. Visitors are joined along the route by Spotty, a salamander character who serves as the trail’s ambassador guide.
“This trail represents ODNR’s continued commitment to making Ohio’s natural spaces open and welcoming to everyone,” ODNR Director Mary Mertz said in the department’s news release. “Wingfoot Lake State Park has always been a place for families and community, and the new Braille Trail ensures that more people can enjoy nature in a way that meets their needs and enriches their experience,” Mertz said in the release. Park manager Mike Studeny said in the release that the goal was a place where everyone felt welcome and could discover nature in ways that were meaningful to them.
The trail was funded in part by a $25,000 grant from the Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities, with additional contributions from Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Unlimited Play, and accessibility advocates and consultants, ODNR said. A nearby Shaded Play Pad with sensory play equipment and ADA-accessible picnic benches was also created with support from the county board, the department said.
Wingfoot Lake is a day-use park just outside Akron, on land Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. bought in 1916 for blimp operations; the Goodyear Blimp hangar sits on the lake’s south shore and the airship can be spotted from the park, which is why one of the trail’s panels features it. ODNR acquired the property in 2009, and the park joined the Ohio State Parks system that year.
The Braille Trail is open now at Wingfoot Lake State Park, at 993 Goodyear Park Blvd. in Mogadore, near the Nature Center. It is the first such trail in the state park system, and ODNR says it reflects the department’s broader push to make Ohio’s natural spaces accessible to more visitors.
Photo: jalexartis Photography, CC BY