A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at noon Thursday at the entrance to the trail - dubbed the "This is Not a Trail" (TNT) trail - located near the Milson Court parking lot behind the Hixon Forest Nature Center. The TNT trail will provide off-road access to the Human Powered Trails network, located on top of Grandad Bluff.

The TNT trail received its name from a sign that read "This is Not a Trail," which was posted near the entrance to the trail before volunteers improved it.

During the past three months, the TNT trail has been renovated by Human Powered Park, a group of mountain biking enthusiasts, and more than 100 community volunteers.

"It's (the Human Powered Trail network) a 160-acre site on top of Grandad Bluff under the big white weather ball, where we have built six or seven miles of trails for mountain biking, cross-country skiing, running or hiking," said Ralph Heath, chief executive officer of Human Powered Park Inc.

The city offered to allow the group to build the trails because the group asked for a safe area to mountain bike, according to Heath.

Off-road access to the Human Powered Trails network was critical because of the traffic hazards of biking or hiking on Bliss Road up to Grandad Bluff to reach the trails, Heath said.

The dedicated access trail to the Human Powered Trails network will be safer and also will curtail illegal bike riding through Hixon Forest to reach the trails, Heath said.

"We think we can put another three miles of trails on that 160-acre site," Heath said. "Ideally we would like to acquire more land and continue to expand."

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