Edmond is building a single paved trail loop around Arcadia Lake. As of this fall, two of its most consequential pieces meet at Midwest Boulevard. One is a 1.8-mile connector that begins at Midwest and is now expected to finish in November. The other is the stretch from the park office west to Midwest. Lake staff called it "old and deteriorated" in August, and right now it exists only as a grant idea.
Coventry Park sits off Midwest Boulevard between Memorial Road and NE 122nd Street, so the road outside its gate is where the lake's trail network is being finished. It is also where the network is still most incomplete.
| Piece of the network | Where it stands, late September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Route 66 Trail, soon to be renamed the Arcadia Lake Trail | Open, about 3 paved miles |
| Spring Creek Trail | Open, about 4 paved miles |
| Arcadia Lake Trail NW Connector | Under construction, November expected |
| Spring Creek Trail Creek Bend Phase II | In design, late 2027 target |
| Spring Creek Park to Carl Reherman Park link | Awaiting environmental clearance |
| Park office to Midwest Blvd rebuild | Grant application under discussion |
One name for a loop that does not exist yet
Part of the confusion comes from naming. In December 2025, Edmond's bicycle trail-naming subcommittee recommended calling the planned paved loop around the lake the "Arcadia Lake Trail." Under that proposal, the current Route 66 Trail takes the new name, the Northwest Connector becomes an extension of it, and the future Spring Creek to Carl Reherman segment joins it as well. The Route 66 name would move to a planned sidepath along Route 66 out to Westminster Road.
Visit Edmond hasn't caught up yet. It still lists the 3-mile paved segment as the Route 66 Trail, with access at the large Post Road lot, the Arcadia Lake Park Office at 9000 E. 2nd St., and Edmond Park at 7100 E. 2nd St. The other paved spine is the Spring Creek Trail. It runs 4 miles from Spring Creek Park to the west side of I-35, with parking at Spring Creek Park, 7200 E. 15th St., and at Integris, 4503 Integris Parkway.
So two paved trails touch the lake, and one gap separates them. The loop has a name before it has a shape, and closing that gap is the next step toward the shape.
The connector's date has slipped twice, which is normal
The NW Connector is the piece meant to join those two trails. The city describes 1.8 miles of trail that begin at Midwest Boulevard and link to the Spring Creek Trail via a low-water crossing. City committee materials put the groundbreaking on January 12, and construction started in February.
The completion estimate has changed three times this year:
- July 29. The city's capital projects dashboard listed "Fall 2026" and said the contractor was on track.
- August 13. Arcadia Lake Commission minutes put completion at mid-October. They noted that the low-water crossing section was about to begin, with water and drainage concerns still being worked through.
- September 11. Senior Civil Engineer Brad Moery's update to the Edmond Bicycle Committee said "anticipating November completion."
The low-water crossing is the hard part. It's the section that ties the new trail into the Spring Creek Trail, and it's where the drainage questions came up. That packet doesn't list an opening date or a ribbon cutting. November is an estimate.
The money is real. The September presentation lists a total project budget of $4,132,201, with 80% from a federal ODOT TAP grant and 20% from the city. The July dashboard puts construction cost alone at $3,415,004.38.
What the connector actually connects
The city describes the connector as more than a lake path. In Moery's words, the extension "helps join the developments along I-35 including Integris and Mercy Hospitals, the new Library and YMCA, Sam's Club & Wal-Mart."
The timing lines up closely. The Kupiec East Edmond YMCA is scheduled to open November 16, the same month the connector is expected to finish. The naming recommendation also treats a connection to the "Ybrary," still in design, as an extension of the Spring Creek Trail, the same way the Integris spur works today.
Put those plans together and the trail stops being only a weekend loop around the water. It becomes a paved route that is planned to run from Midwest Boulevard to the east-side errand corridor along I-35.
The worn segment at the other end of Midwest
The weakest link sits right beside the newest one. At the August 13 commission meeting, staff described a grant opportunity for "the section of trail running from the park office west to Midwest Blvd."
"This trail is old and deteriorated and needs to be rebuilt/restructured."
The minutes describe the funding as a Recreational Trails Program grant of up to $300,000 with a 20% match. A professional assessment is required before the December application deadline. The minutes also say Edmond has no adaptive trails, and that this segment, with changes to width, turning radius, and grade, could suit adaptive mountain bikes and handcycles.
That is a proposal, not a project. No application had been filed in the documents reviewed, and there is no construction date. Still, Midwest Boulevard ties both ends of this story together. The newest paved connector starts there. The segment the city is considering rebuilding, possibly as Edmond's first adaptive trail, ends there.
The pieces further out
Two more segments decide when the loop actually closes, and both are years away.
Spring Creek Trail Creek Bend Phase II would join the two ends built in Phase I between Coltrane Road and I-35. Once finished, the Spring Creek Trail would run continuously from Spring Creek Park at Arcadia Lake to Coltrane via an underpass below I-35. Land acquisition is now done, design is about 60% complete, and the target is late 2027.
The Spring Creek Park to Carl Reherman Park trail along the lake's west side is still waiting on environmental clearances. Its estimated cost is $2 million from the city and $1 million from ODOT. Arcadia Lake Commission minutes from November 2025 described it as likely "a couple of years out."
None of this is the only way to use the lake on two wheels. Visit Edmond lists 35 miles of natural-surface mountain-bike singletrack, with free public parking at Spring Creek, at Central Park near the park office, and at the Dam Trails off Post Road by the Edmond water tower.
What changes at the gates this fall
The trail work is happening alongside other changes to lake access. On September 15, the Journal Record reported that the city council recommended moving forward with Arcadia Lake master-plan access improvements, including reservations, automated gates, pay stations, and access control, estimated at $389,006.
On 2nd Street/US-66, the MAIN-03 water project closed the eastbound right lane between Saints Boulevard and Air Depot Boulevard starting September 24. A westbound phase follows, and the two phases together are expected to take about three months. The project is laying a 36-inch treated water line and a 48-inch raw water line from the Arcadia Lake Water Treatment Plant toward I-35 and 2nd Street. In August, lake staff warned that this work would close a series of park entrances.
Last season, Edmond Park and Carl Reherman Park closed for the off-season on November 1, with reopening set for April 1. If that schedule repeats, the connector's expected November finish would arrive just as those parks close for the season.
Two dated events still fall in this window:
- Storybook Forest, October 23 through 30, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. nightly at Spring Creek Park. It's a family walk past storybook scenes, with a hayride, games, and a campfire.
- Prevail the Trail, Saturday, December 5, on the dam side of the lake. Prevail Strength offers 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and full-marathon distances plus a family hike, and registrations benefit Hope is Alive.
If the November estimate holds, the December race will be the first organized event at the lake after the new connector opens.
A trail that reaches the I-35 corridor changes how a home near Midwest Boulevard connects to the rest of Edmond. That connection belongs in its value. If you're curious how Coventry Park's position on the lake's busiest construction edge shows up in a current number, Kasey Reyes can walk you through it. Get a Free Home Valuation.
