I've wanted to do this article (and one ranking Bike-Friendly Campuses) for awhile now, but in order to do it right I planned to send out lots of surveys to campuses around the state, wait for feedback, analyze the data and then write it up. Since this blog is a hobby that produces no income, I haven't gotten around to putting the time in on that. Instead of waiting for lots of free time, I've decided to publish an incomplete article and solicit help filling it out. If you are a student or recent graduate of any college/university in Arkansas, please respond to the survey questions below using the comment section or the contact form here.
Here is my draft ranking of Arkansas' Best Colleges for Outdoorsy People that will surely change as results come in from schools I haven't ever visited. Rankings are based on trails and facilities owned/built by the school and on nearby resources such as state parks, great climbing spots, etc. Since one of the goals of this piece is to encourage schools to compete for outdoorsy students by improving and expanding their hiking, biking, climbing, paddling, and swimming infrastructure; extra weight is given to projects and facilities owned or supported by the school.
Let me know what I got wrong and what I'm missing!
Showing posts with label University Trails. Show all posts
Showing posts with label University Trails. Show all posts
Monday, January 13, 2014
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Coleman Creek Greenway UPDATE
A new stretch of the Coleman Creek Greenway will open soon on the UALR campus. The new section, running between 28th and 20th St. will double the length of the existing trail and increase the trail's connection to the community. This new section travels through a forested part of campus and should feel a bit more natural than the southern half which closely parallels roads and parking lots for much of its length. One day, this trail may run from Markham, south through War Memorial Park, through UALR, and down to Fourche Creek, where it will hopefully connect to other trails following Rock Creek and Fourche Creek coming in from Hindman Park, Boyle Park, and Fourche Bottoms.
.jpeg "Trail of Tears Park, Coleman Creek Greenway, Little Rock")
.jpeg "Trail of Tears Park, Coleman Creek Greenway, Little Rock")
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Spadra Creek Trails - Clarksville
If you ever get tired of sitting in your car as you make the journey from Little Rock to Fayetteville, considering stopping in Clarksville and exploring the trails around Spadra Creek. While there are other access points, the one closest to I-40 is located behind the McDonald's on Rogers St. (at exit #58). From the parking area, you have several dirt trail options, most of which are used by mountain bikers, and a long flat paved trail. The map below shows the paved trail and hopefully I will add some of the dirt trails on future visits. From the parking area near the interstate, the trail roughly follows Spadra Creek for 1.75 miles up to the University of the Ozarks. The trail is mostly forested at the beginning and then gets progressively more open. I believe the mountain biking trails are mostly in the woods, if you are looking for a more natural feel.
Mountain Bike Arkansas has descriptions and maps of the dirt trails.
Mountain Bike Arkansas has descriptions and maps of the dirt trails.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Healthy Campuses
This is a little off topic from my usual posts, but it is something I've spent some time thinking about and wanted to write about here before reworking it for a letter to the editor or a guest-post somewhere.
I've been a student at three different universities now. One on each coast and now at the University of Arkansas. To some extent, all of these schools encourage their students to eat healthy and exercise in order to take care of their mental and physical well-being. Of the three, the University of Arkansas, in my opinion, does the poorest job providing the facilities and infrastructure necessary to encourage students to be active.
Here are a few examples I've noticed of how UA lags behind UC Berkeley and Duke in terms promoting exercise and fitness.
1. I will start with one that relates directly to this blog; trails. UC Berkeley borders large greenspaces that have mile after mile of wide, dirt trails (firetrails). Duke has a massive 7,000 acre forest with miles of hiking and biking trails. The flagship university of the Natural State has neither, though the nearby, paved, Razorback Greenway is nice. UCA and the University of the Ozarks have more walking and mountain biking trails than UA.
2. UC Berkeley and Duke allowed students and the public to run on their tracks. Heck, my dorm at Berkeley had a track with an incredible view of the bay, where you could run in the shade of towering eucalyptus while getting lost in the scenery. Arkansas prohibits students from running on their outdoor track, though students can use a tiny, musty 200m indoor track with views of basketball courts below.
3. UC Berkeley and Duke have outdoor pools. UA doesn't. Berkeley actually had 3 or 4 outdoor pools that students could use. While you could argue the Bay Area's climate allows for more efficient use of outdoor pools, the weather at Duke is fairly similar to what we have in Arkansas. I took a class at Indiana University and even they had an outdoor pool. A public university, in INDIANA. And they let the public use it, not just students.
4. Berkeley is not a car-friendly campus and neither is the surrounding city. When I lived there, it was faster and easier to bike anywhere within 4-miles than it was to drive. Both Duke and Arkansas have enormous parking lots, garages, and roads throughout campus, which promote driving and detract from the campus experience (and aesthetics). Arkansas has a long way to go before it can be considered a bike-friendly campus and current powers-that-be incorrectly assume bike infrastructure on campus is more than adequate.
I'm not sure what all contributes to this problem at UA, but one likely cause is the heightened level of deference given to the athletics teams. What other reason could there be to not allow students to use the outdoor track, which is deserted most hours of most days of the year. It is interesting to note that Duke and UC Berkeley are big sports schools too, but still allow students to use these facilities. It would be a shame if UA's efforts (and 100's of millions of dollars) to build a stronger sports program were negatively impacting the health of its student body. Even if private money covered the construction costs of all the athletic facilities, I believe it is still state dollars and student tuition and fees that cover the utilities for these massive buildings that lie vacant much of the year. Why not let us use what we are helping pay for?
I've been a student at three different universities now. One on each coast and now at the University of Arkansas. To some extent, all of these schools encourage their students to eat healthy and exercise in order to take care of their mental and physical well-being. Of the three, the University of Arkansas, in my opinion, does the poorest job providing the facilities and infrastructure necessary to encourage students to be active.
Here are a few examples I've noticed of how UA lags behind UC Berkeley and Duke in terms promoting exercise and fitness.
1. I will start with one that relates directly to this blog; trails. UC Berkeley borders large greenspaces that have mile after mile of wide, dirt trails (firetrails). Duke has a massive 7,000 acre forest with miles of hiking and biking trails. The flagship university of the Natural State has neither, though the nearby, paved, Razorback Greenway is nice. UCA and the University of the Ozarks have more walking and mountain biking trails than UA.
2. UC Berkeley and Duke allowed students and the public to run on their tracks. Heck, my dorm at Berkeley had a track with an incredible view of the bay, where you could run in the shade of towering eucalyptus while getting lost in the scenery. Arkansas prohibits students from running on their outdoor track, though students can use a tiny, musty 200m indoor track with views of basketball courts below.
3. UC Berkeley and Duke have outdoor pools. UA doesn't. Berkeley actually had 3 or 4 outdoor pools that students could use. While you could argue the Bay Area's climate allows for more efficient use of outdoor pools, the weather at Duke is fairly similar to what we have in Arkansas. I took a class at Indiana University and even they had an outdoor pool. A public university, in INDIANA. And they let the public use it, not just students.
4. Berkeley is not a car-friendly campus and neither is the surrounding city. When I lived there, it was faster and easier to bike anywhere within 4-miles than it was to drive. Both Duke and Arkansas have enormous parking lots, garages, and roads throughout campus, which promote driving and detract from the campus experience (and aesthetics). Arkansas has a long way to go before it can be considered a bike-friendly campus and current powers-that-be incorrectly assume bike infrastructure on campus is more than adequate.
I'm not sure what all contributes to this problem at UA, but one likely cause is the heightened level of deference given to the athletics teams. What other reason could there be to not allow students to use the outdoor track, which is deserted most hours of most days of the year. It is interesting to note that Duke and UC Berkeley are big sports schools too, but still allow students to use these facilities. It would be a shame if UA's efforts (and 100's of millions of dollars) to build a stronger sports program were negatively impacting the health of its student body. Even if private money covered the construction costs of all the athletic facilities, I believe it is still state dollars and student tuition and fees that cover the utilities for these massive buildings that lie vacant much of the year. Why not let us use what we are helping pay for?
 |
| UA Outdoor Track |
 |
| UC Berkeley Outdoor Track #2 |
 |
| Duke Forest Fun |
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Coleman Creek Updates
On my way to Hindman Park yesterday, I drove through UALR to check on the Coleman Creek Greenway progress. Having served on the greenway committee and spent lots of time helping grade and plant the Trail of Tears section at the southern end of campus, I was interested to see if the trail had been expanded. It turns out that a lot of progress has been made since I last visited.
Students can now walk along a nice, wide, tree-lined pedestrian path from 28th St. to Asher Ave. or in other words the full length of the main part of campus; which is an important milestone in terms of the utilitarian value of the trail to students.
The original concept for this trail wasn't just to provide an improved experience for students walking to class from Lot 13 or the dorms. When complete, the trail will stretch over three miles from Markham at the north end of War Memorial Park down to Fourche Creek near Mabelvale Pike where it could connect to other trails in the area coming in from Hindman Park, Fourche Bottoms, or the former BFI landfill. Running along both sides of the creek in some sections, the trail will connect areas of residential, recreational, academic, and commercial uses and provide a scenic and healthy alternative transportation route for people looking to avoid driving on University Ave.
More articles on Coleman Creek.
The original concept for this trail wasn't just to provide an improved experience for students walking to class from Lot 13 or the dorms. When complete, the trail will stretch over three miles from Markham at the north end of War Memorial Park down to Fourche Creek near Mabelvale Pike where it could connect to other trails in the area coming in from Hindman Park, Fourche Bottoms, or the former BFI landfill. Running along both sides of the creek in some sections, the trail will connect areas of residential, recreational, academic, and commercial uses and provide a scenic and healthy alternative transportation route for people looking to avoid driving on University Ave.
More articles on Coleman Creek.
Current Coleman Creek Greenway
View Coleman Current in a larger map
Future Coleman Creek Greenway
View Coleman Creek Greenway in a larger map
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Trails at UCA
I recently read an article about the Jewel E. Moore Trail at the University of Central Arkansas. Since I'm living in Fayetteville now, I sent a skilled field reporter, aka my older sister, who happens to be taking some graduate classes there to investigate. I ended up getting a ton of great information for my money ($0, though if you are reading this, I can reimburse gas).
UCA has nearly 3 miles of trail that range greatly with respect to width, material, and scenery. You can view an official map here and a detailed description of the trail here. Not surprisingly, the two nicest sections of the trail are the ones that run through more natural areas of the campus, though these trails can be (and today were) wet and muddy in places. These easy, fairly level trails have lots of benches if you need to take a break or just want to soak up some nature.
UCA has nearly 3 miles of trail that range greatly with respect to width, material, and scenery. You can view an official map here and a detailed description of the trail here. Not surprisingly, the two nicest sections of the trail are the ones that run through more natural areas of the campus, though these trails can be (and today were) wet and muddy in places. These easy, fairly level trails have lots of benches if you need to take a break or just want to soak up some nature.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)