The Apalachee Regional Planning Council was awarded a Community Planning Technical Assistance Grant to develop a feasibility study of a trail from Chattahoochee to Bristol. The feasibility study was written to determine the possibility of the proposed Chattahoochee-to-Bristol (C2B) Trail. The trail has been a grassroots effort that came to life after the Highway 90 Corridor Study highlighted many of the assets in the area and the ability of a linkage through extensive public lands. The new trail would hopefully add an economic vigor to a rural and underserved area utilizing the incredible terrain and endemic species found in the distinct Apalachicola River Bluffs and Ravines area.

The C2B trail would hug the eastern bank of the Apalachicola River, running through private and public lands in Gadsden and Liberty counties following the topography of bluffs and ravines of the Apalachicola River. Some of the larger landowners would include The Nature Conservancy, the Northwest Florida Water Management District, City of Chattahoochee, and Torreya State Park.

The Feasibility Study found that the C2B Trail is certainly possible. There are many obstacles but no dead ends.

ARPC staff continues to work with local stakeholders to move forward. A meeting was held in June 2018 to discuss updates. This meeting was attended by representatives from over a dozen private and public stakeholder groups. ARPC staff is collaborating with Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) staff to develop criteria needed to utilize the rest area on I-10. ARPC staff will be working with Torreya Park staff to potentially integrate the C2B Trail into the Park’s Unit Management Plan. One of the most common takeaways from this meeting is the complexity of the proposed trail and the number of moving parts. ARPC hopes to continue to facilitate this trail into actuality. 

The Final Report is available here: C2B Final.