Walking around Taylor Lake used to mean you were playing disc golf or fishing. Now, a trail circling the lake invites people to walk, bike and enjoy a new perspective on campus.
The Taylor Lake Trail begins at Hodson Drive and 8th Street and runs south to Overlook Drive, continuing east toward South Drive. The completed section gives walkers access to the back of the lake, while future plans will add it to a larger perimeter route around campus.
This project is funded by the Main Street Mile Initiative, which funds projects and programs along the 1-mile corridor connecting Taylor University and downtown Upland, said Andrea Masvero, executive director of 1846 Enterprises. 1846 Enterprises is a nonprofit supporting organization for Taylor that bridges community and campus through projects with mutual benefit.
"We see this as a beautiful natural asset for campus and one that can also benefit the community,” Masvero said. “Those connections to nature are really important.”
The project aims to enhance physical wellness, social connection and engagement with nature, she said. It provides another place for people to walk together and experience an area of campus they may have otherwise passed by.
The current trail is part of a larger effort to improve connections around campus. Future plans include extending the perimeter trail around the Residential Village and sidewalk improvements along both Main Street and across Reade Avenue. These improvements should be completed by Fall 2027 along with the new Chapel.
These developments can help to connect the campus and revive different areas that aren’t being utilized to their full potential.
“So we did an assessment campus wide of how to make campus more pedestrian friendly, more biker friendly and really working on chipping away at those improvements,” Masvero said.
Before the new trail, senior finance major and presidential fellow Matt Yoder said his walks often meant repeating the same campus loop. The lake trail, now part of his weekly routine, adds variety to his walks, allowing him to see different scenery and explore places he had rarely visited before.
Yoder walks about twice a week, usually with his girlfriend. They use the time to talk, exercise and see a beautiful sunset on the lake. He said his favorite section is when the trail starts, across from the softball field, and getting to walk through the trees.
“The lake could be just a central place of community, with bonfires and volleyball and so many other events going on,” Yoder said. “And this trail is going to magnify that.”
Wet weather near the water, an invasive species and reinforcement of the lake’s edge to help the trail last provided complications.
The completion of the trail required planning and consideration. Taylor’s grounds department and outside consultants, including Flatland Resources, helped plan the project. Their work included considering how the trail would be maintained over time, and not destroying the already- beautiful landscape around the lake.
For Yoder, the project’s value extends beyond having another walking route. The larger trail system is a way for students to explore more of Taylor and Upland.
“It just really expands the possibilities of what Taylor University could be,” Yoder said.
