WILBURTON, Okla. — The city of Wilburton is getting a new hiking trail that will connect its city to the Robbers Cave State Park. Mayor Loran Mayes said she hoped the project would increase tourism and fund money for better infrastructure.
She added that the project should start by the end of 2025 and hopefully finish installing all the necessary signage by the summer of 2026.
Joshua Ganz is the owner of Paxson's Pop Creamery along Main Street in town. He said more tourism to his city would be incredible.
"Just being part of the experience... And we get to share the experience of the town," said Ganz.
Mayes said the trail is expected to start near the Oklahoma Forestry Services at 1379 OK-2 and end in the middle of Robbers Cave State Park.
"Yeah, it's great, it's supposed to be a multi-use walking path… having that leisure aspect added to it where they can come into town, very exciting," said Ganz.
Mayes said she's unsure how long it will be or how much it'll cost because it's still in the planning stages.
"Anytime there is an investment in the community to help us make a difference in our lives… It's going to just pay off dividends," said Ganz.
WATCH: New hiking trail in Wilburton connects city to Robbers Cave State Park
He added that his city was long overdue for an economic boost.
"There's a lot of grant money that's spent through the state, some of the smaller areas and smaller counties like ours get overlooked sometimes," said Ganz.
2 News asked specifically what infrastructure would be getting fixed with more funding.
"Parks, community programs, youth sports, those sorts of things we would like to improve all of those," said Mayes.
Ganz said the future looked even brighter for Wilburton.
"Anything they can do to bring more dollars to the area, whether that's in infrastructure or development… And spending their dollars here rather than in a big city," said Ganz.
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