Fifteen hundred acres along the Cahaba River will soon have canoe access points, hiking and biking trails.

Shelby County is making progress on Cahaba River Park. It just finished River Road, connecting County Road 13 to the Cahaba River.

Now that people have better access to the river, the next step is to add recreation opportunities.

You can just relax, you know, without having all the troubles, Larry Norris told ABC 33/40.

The river is a usual rest spot for Norris.

I just love getting outdoors you know because of my health and everything like that, said Norris. I want a place to come to that's beautiful.

Norris lives nearby Cahaba River Park. He smiles at the idea of the county building new amenities.

Everything they're going to do is going to be pretty cool, Norris said.

Shelby county and Forever Wild own the land.

The plan is to add several canoe access points along seven miles of the Cahaba. A parking lot will be added at the end of River Road, along with restrooms and a pavilion.

The county also applied for grants for hiking and biking trails.

The county's owned its part of the land for about ten years but during tough economic times, didn't put a lot of resources into developing it. Now, it will use about $1 million for the new amenities aimed at increasing quality of life for the residents.

There's a demand for nice, enjoyable spaces out in the environment where people can go out and feel and touch wild life, said Chad Scroogins, Chief Development Officer for the county.

Scroogins expects all amenities to be complete this fall, including a caretaker house aimed at increasing safety.

The caretaker is usually someone in law enforcement that allows us to have some security there but they also have general responsibilities with upkeep and maintenance with various aspects of the park, explained Scroogins.

There are also plans to resurface county road 13, which leads to River Road.

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Shelby County making progress on Cahaba River Park - Alabama's News Leader