8:07 a.m., May 26, 2010----The 1.76-mile James F. Hall Trail in Newark, which opened in 2003 with strong support from the University of Delaware and the campus community, has been designated a National Recreation Trail.

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The trail was one of 31 new National Recreation Trails announced by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in advance of National Trails Day, which will be marked on Saturday, June 5.

The James F. Hall Trail is located along the north side of the Amtrak railroad tracks and stretches from Bradford Lane to the Delaware Technology Park. It was named for the city of Newark's first director of parks and recreation.

Designation as a National Recreation Trail will be marked during a ceremony at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, June 5, at Kells Park on Kells Avenue.

For its short length, the trail is jam-packed with a variety of distinctive features and is itself a popular downtown destination. It accesses three city parks that feature several active recreation facilities and passes through a pristine wetland area and the old Newark Train Station, which is home to the Newark Historical Society.

The trail features footbridge crossings of two streams that are tributaries of the White Clay Creek, designated a National Wild and Scenic River.

The trail provides safe and easy access to the outdoors for more than 28,000 residents of Newark and the surrounding suburbs and to the University of Delaware campus community. The trail is hard surfaced for multi-use and ADA accessible, lighted for 24-hour use, and allows for intermodal access to Amtrak and SEPTA rail service.

Thanks are due to the many partners that helped make the trail a reality, according to Charles Emerson, director of parks and recreation for the city, who recognized the Newark Bike Committee, the University of Delaware, Amtrak, and Delaware's departments of Transportation and Natural Resources and Environmental Control for assistance in making the project happen.

Recently, UD's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering was honored for work by students in addressing expansion and enhancement of a multi-user trail system in the city of Newark. The Pomeroy Trail East Annex Project, scheduled for completion in 2011, will connect the existing James F. Hall Trail with the University's north campus.