Gay Lea Wilson of Pleasant Hill gathered with Polk County officials and other community leaders earlier this summer for a groundbreaking ceremony on a new section of the trail in eastern Polk County that bears her name.

For 25 years, Wilson, 55, has been a tenacious trails advocate. She was for trails before trails were cool.

The new section is a two-mile, 10-foot-wide multi-use trail between Ankeny and Des Moines. Polk County Conservation officials said the extension of the Wilson trail will be a blessing for people who like to bike on roads free of motorists. Approximately 20 miles of paved trail in Polk County already is named for Wilson.

When completed, the Gay Lea Wilson Trail will extend 35 miles through eastern and northern Polk County and will make up the lower portion of a 110-mile Central Iowa Trail Loop through five counties, according to Polk County Conservation.

Back in the late 1980s, Wilson was raising her family on Des Moines’ east side and was spurred to advocate for trails because she wanted a place for kids to ride their bicycles and enjoy nature.

She said some people said residents wouldn’t use a trail on the east side, but she dug in, slowly and steadily, and became a voice for a first-class trails system that now connects metro-area communities and helps people embrace the natural wonders of Polk County.

“I’ve always been the kind of person that, if I saw a problem, I wasn’t one to just sit back and complain about it, but I try and find a solution for it,” Wilson said.

Throughout the past two decades, she’s been there to inform new officials about the history of the trails and to reinforce the idea that trails are more than exercise paths: They are a tool to connect people and diverse communities.

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