Improved trails a major part of planned Legion Lake upgrades

Development and construction of a mountain bike trail out at Legion Lake is in the works for 2022 after Perry County was notified by the Missouri State Parks director that it will be the recipient of grant funding for trail improvements.
It will likely be closer to a $400,000 project when it is finalized, according to Trish Erzfeld of Perry County Heritage Tourism. She will be serving as the project manager.
The county is slated to receive $250,000 in grant funding. A total of 29 applications were received and eight are scheduled to receive money. The Federal Highway Administration approved a total of more than $4.6 million.
As of now, the estimated cost of the entire project is approximately $367,000.
“It’s a great deal,” Erzfeld said. “It gives our local residents another form of outdoor activity.”
The materials used for the trail will be either wood, rock or dirt, Erzfeld said.
“It’s all natural scaping,” she said. “We’re going to have some natural grass areas. We’re going to be promoting habitat out there. We’re going to be utilizing every inch of the Legion Lake property that has never been done before.”
“(It’s) very exciting because now we can officially talk about it,” said Perry County Clerk Jared Kutz. “We’ve known for a little while but now we can tell folks. That’s a big deal for us. It’s going to be several hundred thousand dollars, that’s what our grant is for.”
Perry County presiding commissioner Mike Sauer is excited about the upcoming Legion Lake site improvements.
“Absolutely,” he said. “We want to re-do a lot of things out there. It starts with that bike trail. We’re going to re-do the bathrooms out there, re-work the pavilions out there, just make the whole place more presentable so it does get utilized.”
There will be multiple levels of intensity along the proposed trails, Kutz noted.
“We’re working with an engineer and surveyors now to get a request for qualifications to see who is interested in bidding on this project,” Kutz said. “It’s super cool. That place, Legion Lake, is a hidden gem. If you are sitting out there and fishing, if it weren’t for the sound of air breaks coming from the interstate, you wouldn’t how close to civilization you actually are, it is very peaceful and beautiful.”
The commission members have had long-standing dialogue with local veterans about potential park improvements, noted Kutz.
“There are also people coming to them with ideas on what they can do out there,” Kutz said. “One of the things they are cognizant of is they always go to the local veterans groups. (Former commissioner) Jim Sutterer has been a great advocate for the commission over the years to go the veterans group and say, ‘Do you like this idea of what could be done at Legion Lake?’ and ask them their thoughts before the commission proceeds with anything because it is Legion Memorial Lake and is a veterans memorial site.”
“The best part about this is these trails won’t take away from the natural beauty, they kind of blend in with the scenery,” Kutz said.
The grant application was turned in during the early portion of 2021.
“It’s been a year in the making,” Erzfeld said. “Our next is we have to do what they call an environmental study.”
Southeast Missouri Regional Planning will be assisting Perry County in this process.

A preliminary drawing of the improvements will be submitted as part of an environmental study.
“It’s an old Scout trail,” she said. “We are picking up some of that, incorporating some of it and expanding it.”
A primary trailhead will be installed north of the dam and a near pavilion in that area are also part of the future improvements.
“This allows us to use all of the unused space,” Erzfeld said.
Multiuse trail can is viewed as something for mountain biking, hiking and nature walks
“It’s foot traffic and bicycling, both,” Erzfeld said.
The trails will be five-feet wide and there will be at least 10 bridges so the trail can go over the landscape as well as switchbacks to assist with getting up the hills, Erzfeld noted.
Erzfeld has discussed the possibility of bringing in organizations and associations which sponsor mountain bike races, including the National Interscholastic Cycling Association.
The 4.5 mile continuous loop around the lake is key in one regard, according to Erzfeld.
“That’s (the distance) we would need if we want to hold any state or regional events involving mountain biking. We wanted to make sure we could check that box if we wanted to host events here.
The county, through its local park sales tax fund, will be matching some of that money.
“There’s going to be a very exciting, large project going on out at Legion Lake, hopefully later this year,” Kutz noted. “For the most part, this is a four-mile trail that’s going to encompass the entirety of the park…The best part about it, you won’t it’s there unless you know it’s there.”
The goal is to get bids and sent out for requests for qualifications later this spring, Kutz noted.
“It’s a very unique group of people that do work like this,” Kutz said.
The construction of the trail could begin later this year, according to Kutz.
“Part of this program is we will have a group of people that are volunteers who will come in (and maintain the trail),” Kutz said. “…They’re will be work days and stuff like that out there with this group. That’s been part of the initiating conversation of the program.”
“We’ve got surveys and things of that nature that have gone on out there and they’ll actually start getting into real trail maps sometime this year,” Kutz said.
Another item discussed was a handicapped access fishing dock.
“It’ll be close to four miles when it’s all said and done,” Kutz said. “It will encompass the whole park. On the back side, there will be what’s called a pump track. It’s a track you’re not supposed to have to pedal on. You start up elevated and go down.”