KIDDER TOWNSHIP -- It's been a long time coming.
"I love it. We walked it before and I think it's a great asset for the community," said Maria Mongelli, Lake Harmony.
"It's been in the works for, oh boy, our environmental advisory council had started talking about doing a trail back in the '90s," said Suzanne Brooks, Kidder Township Manager.
The new hike and bike trail near Lake Harmony opened this week.
The path is designed for not only outdoor recreation, but also safety.
"This trail will help keep people off the main roadway. Everyone likes to walk through our township and see the beautiful lake, the landscaping is just incomparable to other areas. This will keep them off the roadways and safe," said Brooks.
"We get a lot of people from down by Big Boulder, Ridgewood, that vacation on the weekends and they would be walking up the highway. Now they can jump on the trail and it's a lot safer," said Angelo Dubravski, Lake Harmony Market - Country Peddler owner.
What people like most about this trail design is that everyone can use it. That's because it's handicap accessible.
Angelo Dubravski runs a market in Kidder Township. He's also involved in the project.
"Most of the businesses rely on vacationers coming up here on the weekends and you have a wide range of people that come. This way, anyone can use the trail," said Dubravski.
This is just the first phase of the project. Future plans include extending the trail.
Donations from the community helped pay for this project.