Whitewater Adventure Inspires People to Bike, Hike and Paddle the Valley

METAMORA, April 20 -- Over a three-week period in September 2010, residents and visitors in southeastern Indiana and southwestern Ohio can participate in The Whitewater Adventure, a series of Bike-Hike-Paddle events to discover the cultural heritage and natural beauty of the Whitewater River Valley.  The annual event is presented by the Whitewater Canal Byway Association with generous support from sponsors throughout the region. 

 

The 2010 Whitewater Adventure will include the Fifth Annual Whitewater Walk, and it will be joined by a “Bike the Byway” weekend ride and a “Run the River” excursion. People can choose to participate in the bike ride, the river event, or any of the Walk’s daily activities. “The Whitewater Adventure will do more than just get people physically fit,” said Candy Yurcak, President of the Whitewater Canal Byway Association.  “It will inspire.  It will rejuvenate the body, mind, and spirit.  It will help communities get ‘fit’ to work together and improve the Valley for the benefit of all.”

 

The Adventure will begin with a two-day “Bike the Byway” ride on Saturday, September 11 and Sunday, September 12. The first day’s ride will leave Richmond from the Whitewater Gorge Park at the Starr Gennett Pavilion.  Bikers will travel a 50-mile route to Liberty across beautiful Brookville Lake and on to Metamora. Cyclists will end the first day at the new Whitewater Valley Gateway Park in historic Metamora.  The park features campground (with utilities), shower facilities, and open camping areas. The second day’s journey travels south through picturesque Oldenburg and Batesville before completing its 52-mile route in Metamora.

 

The 5th Annual Whitewater Walk starts on Sunday, September 19 and concludes on Sunday, September 26.  This year’s “walk” includes a casual bike ride, boating, a “Run the River” excursion, camping, train ride, and walking.   Each day will provide participants with a different way to discover the treasures that led to the creation of the state-designated Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway and its loops in the Valley. The Walk begins with a casual bicycle ride from Hagerstown, at the historic Canal’s northern terminus, to Cambridge City where the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway intersects with the historic National Road, an All-American Highway and one the nation’s first scenic byways.  Over the next several days, the Walk will lead hikers through the Whitewater Valley before concluding in Lawrenceburg on the Ohio River.  Check the schedule for details of each day’s activities.  Along with the main Walk, participants can also join a twilight walk in several historic communities that dot the hills and valleys of this beautiful region.

 

The “Run the River” segment on Friday, September 24, and Saturday, September 25, encourages people to canoe or kayak the Whitewater River and discover the state’s fastest flowing river and steepest river valley.  It will begin in Brookville and includes an overnight camp on the river before concluding near Elizabethtown, Ohio.

 

Online registration and detailed schedules will be available on the WCBA website in the near future.  To learn more about the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway and the WCBA, visit http://www.whitewatercanalscenicbyway.org. 

 

The Whitewater Adventure showcases the Whitewater River Valley and its charming communities.  As people bike, hike, and paddle the valley they will travel two newly designated scenic byways, the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway in Indiana and the Presidential Pathways Byway in Ohio. They will cross the Indiana National Road Byway in the north and the Ohio River Scenic Byway in the south. “They will learn that the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway is destined to be more than just some signs along the highway,” added Yurcak.  “It is the thread that weaves together the communities and the people in six Indiana counties and two Ohio counties.  On the Adventure, participants will create or strengthen friendships as they share stories and experiences, laugh and joke, and learn what it is that makes the Whitewater Valley such a wonderful place to live and visit.”

 

“In the past, residents and community leaders felt helpless as the region’s economic fortunes declined and led to a sense that this must be good enough.  The Whitewater Walk helped us rediscover the Valley’s unique treasures, its people and its places.  We know that ‘good enough’ isn’t good enough anymore,” she concluded.  

The 2010 Whitewater Adventure will demonstrate that physical health, economic health, social health, cultural health, spiritual health, and civic health are all interrelated quality-of-life elements. The Whitewater Adventure will help the Valley move beyond tourism and create memorable experiences for residents and visitors alike.

 

The Whitewater Canal Byway Association (WCBA) is a not-for-profit group responsible for the development and management of the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway.  WCBA promotes tourism, cultural heritage, economic development, and overall improvement of quality-of-life in the Whitewater River Valley in southeastern Indiana and southwestern Ohio.  To learn more about the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway and the WCBA, visit http://www.whitewatercanalscenicbyway.org. 

 

 

The Whitewater Adventure is one of several projects initiated by the Whitewater Canal Byway Association.  The foundation of all of these efforts is working together—individuals, communities, organizations, and elected officials using the Whitewater River and its historic canal as the common thread to pursue development and improve the quality-of-life for residents in the Valley. The first Whitewater Walk was held in 2006 and people thought we were crazy to travel the 109-mile Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway Route and its Eastern Loop over an eight-day period.  The Whitewater Adventure will help residents rediscover the many assets and treasures—scenic, historic, natural, cultural, spiritual—that exist in our own backyard. The expanded format will encourage visitors to come explore as well.  Through the Byway, local leaders and citizens are renewing the spirit of place and pride in the Valley by capturing and sharing stories of the region’s history and culture.

 

In the first four years of the walk, we learned that to rediscover the spirit of our place we had to slow down and travel at a less hectic pace, be willing to stray or venture off the path, tell tales and share conversation, laugh, and break bread together.  As we walked, the city and town limits, county lines, and state boundaries didn’t disappear, but faded into the landscape until they were no longer relevant. Hikers trekking through the Valley have regained an appreciation for the beauty and heritage of our place.  It is about creating friendships and cultivating relationships so we can help ourselves and not rely solely on government assistance or outside groups to shape our future.  Friends working together can have a positive impact on communities because they are most closely affected by the efforts.  We have seen a renewed spirit of collaboration as individuals, organizations, and communities are working to capture economic growth through small businesses, protect and promote our cultural heritage, and begin advocating for each other’s success. 

 

The Whitewater Walk builds momentum among the participants and it shows up as people work together on other regional initiatives. By adding a “Bike the Byway” segment and “Run the River” segment we can expand the reach of this Adventure to more residents and encourage visitors to experience all that the Valley has to offer. In 2009, the Whitewater Canal Byway Association hosted a successful conference focused on the “Power of Collaboration.”  It was a one-day event along with the few days of planning.  However, the Whitewater Walk, a walking conference, has had 33 days of collaborative experiences plus the planning.  Everyone who has participated in the Whitewater Walk has become involved in other Whitewater Canal Byway Association initiatives.  The Walk works and the Whitewater Adventure will help us move to the next level.

 

 

 

The Whitewater Walk began as an effort to help people become aware of the many assets in the Whitewater Valley and to build support for the proposed Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway.  As the Walk enters its fifth year and the Bike and Paddle adventures are added, the goals for the project have remained the same:

·        Get people to participate in the Whitewater Experience outside of their home communities.

·        Create awareness of the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway and its three Loops among the Valley’s residents (not only tourism as outreach, but local awareness as inreach)

·        Create greater awareness of the Byway and its projects as regional initiatives that move beyond the geo-political boundaries of towns, cities, counties, and states.

·        Forging friendships and developing relationships that make it easier to pursue collaborative opportunities that can occur in one place and be beneficial to communities throughout the Valley.

  

The Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway is a state-designated highway route that traces the historic Whitewater Canal built in the 1830s leading to development of southeastern Indiana.  In addition to the main route connecting Hagerstown, Cambridge City, Milton, Connersville, Laurel, Metamora, Brookville, New Trenton, Harrison (Ohio) and Lawrenceburg, there are three designated loops connecting the entire Valley. 

§         The Eastern Loop follows the National Road (US40) from Cambridge City to Richmond and then along the Whitewater River East Fork down to Liberty then near Brookville Lake and connecting with the main route in Brookville. 

§         The Oldenburg-Batesville Loop connects Metamora-Oldenburg-Batesville-Brookville. 

§         The Dearborn-Ripley Loop is the southernmost loop connecting Lawrenceburg-Aurora-Moores Hill, Milan-Sunman-Dover-Greendale, then returning to Lawrenceburg.

 

The Whitewater Valley has a storied history of innovation in transportation.  Early traces and trails that connected Indian villages and led to the settlement of Indiana wound their way through the region.  Like many states, Indiana jumped into the canal era with both feet in the 1830s and while the expectations fell short other places, the Whitewater Canal prospered.  As transportation along the Canal was replaced by railroads, the canal continued to produce hydraulic power into the 1950s.  The railroads fostered the development of villages, towns, and cities that were eventually connected by roads, highways, and interstates.  Today, new-generation trails are connecting unique assets, natural resources, and interesting communities.