Tours of Trout Run Trail for the elderly and handicapped will be given this summer

The Trout Run Trail has spectacular views of the city of Decorah and its surrounding hills and bluffs.  But for some people, those views are normally unobtainable.  That's because age or infirmity prevent them from getting on a bike and using the trail.

The Decorah Rotary Club wants to change that.  They have proposed--and the 28e city/county committee that manages the trail agreed on Wednesday morning--that tours of the trail should be given using utility vehicles this August.

The motorized tours are a special exemption to the 28e committee's rule than the trail be off-limits to vehicles.  The Rotary Club has been able to satisfy the 28e Committee's concerns about safety of the passengers (seat belts will be required) and potential damage to the trail (the utility vehicles are small enough they won't damage the trail shoulders.

Details of the event are still being finalized, but those can be worked out now that the 28e Committee gave its approval Wednesday morning.  At this point, Decorah Rotary Club organizers are looking at dates in August, with pre-registration required and a possible maximum of 50 to 75 people taken on the tours.