NORFOLK, Va. - Fitness fans, get ready for a new challenge!
The Elizabeth River Trail (ERT) Foundation announced that the new obstacle course at the Plum Point Park Trailhead opens Saturday, September 5.
The official virtual ribbon ceremony via Facebook Live will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday. Special guests include Norfolk City Councilmembers Andria McClellan and Courtney Doyle and a few dedicated athletes from Latitude Climbing + Fitness and The Adroit Collective ready to run an inaugural lap around the course.
The obstacle course will officially open to the public at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The site, originally owned by NRHA, sat vacant for many years with limited accessibility. The ERT Foundation worked with NRHA, and the land was donated to the City of Norfolk. The site has been developed as a public recreational space for the ERT’s first signature trailhead.
The Double Turbo Challenge Course by KOMPAN features a circuit of fun and challenging elements to improve agility, muscle tone and strength. Course elements include: Custom hurdles and steps, pull-up station, vertical rope net, overhead ladder and balance beams.
The durable, TerraSafe surface system is designed to safely cushion falls or stumbles. The course can typically be completed in minutes.
Located between historic Fort Norfolk and Chelsea, neighboring working shipyards, the Sentara Healthcare/EVMS Medical Complex and Harbor’s Edge, this section of the ERT sees nearly 1,100 users a day. The roughly one-acre site sits on the north side of the trail between Plum Point Park and the midtown tunnel and overlooks a beautifully-restored wetland area on the Elizabeth River.
A local firm, Ann P. Stokes Landscape Architects, worked in collaboration with ERT volunteers to design the site featuring native plants, benches, picnic tables and bike racks. New trees, including nine native longleaf pines donated by the Virginia Department of Forestry, will be planted this fall.
The Plum Point Park Trailhead is the first of 11 trailheads the ERT Foundation plans to develop, and the inclusion of KOMPAN’s dynamic obstacle course at this mid-point trail location is crucial for ERT’s rapidly growing fitness community. The Plum Point Park trailhead already features a newly opened ADA-accessible kayak launch, and construction will soon begin on dynamic playground equipment and a meditative walking labyrinth.
“We at KOMPAN are thrilled to help activate the Elizabeth River Trail with our fitness equipment,” said President Tom Enright. “The Trail will improve the community of Norfolk for many years to come."
Click here to read more about the new obstacle course.
