Ever since he retired, Carlos Otoya has spent more time on the trails at Mint Springs Park than anyone else. "It’s a very healthy life, clearing brush from the trail—my cholesterol is good now."
 New sign markers make the trails at Mint Springs much more accessible. "Unless you were a local, you were bound to get lost up there," says Dan Mahon, greenway supervisor for county Parks and Rec. |
So are the trails. Earlier this month, the Albemarle County Department of Parks and Recreation celebrated the grand re-opening of the 5.2-mile trail system at Mint Springs. The volunteers who made the makeover possible were honored. The Western Albemarle High School Key Club was kind enough to build a stone staircase. The Charlottesville Area Mountain Bike Club made sure the trails would suit fat, knobby tires. Otoya was praised for logging more than 90 volunteer hours toiling at the park this summer with a new weed whacker that the county had bought him. He had used his own for the previous six years.
According to Dan Mahon, greenway supervisor at Parks and Recreation, the trails at Mint Springs were originally blazed in the 1930s, when the park was one of the biggest peach and apple orchards in the country. Over the decades, the trails were only sporadically maintained.
"Unless you were a local, you were bound to get lost up there. It was totally overgrown," says Mahon of the park’s previous condition. Now, the trails are wide and inviting with a new map kiosk and plenty of markers throughout.
Park Ranger Tucker Rollins considers himself a "non-law enforcement presence" on the trails at Mint Springs. If you’re lucky enough to bump into him during your stroll, he’s bound to add a level of appreciation to your hike. For instance, he may tell you the tale about how the Queen of England plucked an Albemarle Pippin Apple from "the tree behind where the playground is now" and declared it the most delicious apple in the world. "She did away with the tariff on exporting apples to England and basically sparked the entire orchard industry
in Virginia."
He might also provide you with a word to the wise. "I tell the people to keep their dog on a leash because we do have black bear up here," says Tucker. "You don’t want to see your family mascot get mauled by a mama bear." Otoya sees a bear or two on the trail "nearly every day," but they never bother him or his field setter, Molly. "They’re very gentle creatures. If you’re not aggressive to them, they won’t be aggressive to you."
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