Sioux County Trails Council chairman Brian Van Engen presented the latest plans for a proposed recreational trail that would connect Sioux Center and Orange City during the Sioux County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, April 20.

The presentation was for informational purposes, and no action was taken by the supervisors.

Van Engen said the council’s overall goal is to continue to build trails to connect the cities and parks within the county so that people can readily access them by bicycle.

Sioux Center has about eight miles of recreation trails while Orange City has about seven miles. The proposed route to connect the cities and Sandy Hollow Recreational Area would span about 20 miles of paved trail.

According to the latest plans, the new path travels from Sandy Hollow south, following the West Branch of the Floyd River until it can connect with public right of way to Indian Avenue. From there, the path would potentially go south about two miles before connecting with another waterway that takes the path to Ironwood Avenue on Orange City’s west side.

The first phase of the project would begin with trail construction on Ironwood Avenue, with the proposed starting point on county land neighboring the sheriff’s office. The trail would cross 20 feet of the county’s land, meaning it would require county permission for construction to take place.