Thank you to Karin and Vince Carson for their $77,200 donation to the Friends of the Paso del Norte Trail, a fund of the Paso del Norte Community Foundation. This legacy donation will support the addition of important amenities to the existing River Park Trail segment of the Paso del Norte Trail in the Upper Valley to include rest area shade structures, bike repair stations, and benches. This is the first Legacy donation to the Friends of the Paso del Norte Trail since it launched earlier this year.

“Having quality hike and bike trails is so important to our region – for recreation and for health. We enjoy taking our dogs out on the River Park Trail, and wanted to support the addition of needed amenities along the trail for others to enjoy,” says Karin Carson who, together with her husband Vince, made this extraordinary gift.

“We are so thankful to Karin and Vince for this leadership gift,” says Jana Renner, Program Officer for the Paso del Norte Health Foundation, who is leading efforts of the Paso del Norte Trail Corporation, a nonprofit organization established in the Paso del Norte Community Foundation to support trail development. “We are proud of the work we are doing to build additional miles of trails in our community. Trail amenities are so important to their enjoyment and use.”

The Paso del Norte Trail is a community-drive collaborative effort to develop a county-wide trail across El Paso County. The goal is to create a regionally significant landmark that promotes active transportation, preserves the history and culture of our region, highlights the Rio Grande river, supports economic development and ecotourism, provides educational and volunteer opportunities, and makes healthy living the easy choice for our unique binational community.

Nearly 15 miles of the larger 68-mile trail vision have been completed to date including the River Park Trail in the Upper Valley and Playa Drain Trail in the Mission Valley.

To learn more about the Paso del Norte Trail or to donate, click here.