Hidalgo County Commissioner David Fuentes admired the completed project of a neighboring colleague and knew he wanted the same for his precinct. 

It was 2020. The Precinct 2 commissioner, Eddie Cantu, invited Fuentes and other county and community leaders to view the finishing touches on his nearly eight-mile-long hike-and-bike trail that connects McAllen, Pharr and San Juan.

“I told Eddie, ‘I’m going to figure out a way to connect to you,’ ’’ Fuentes said of the Precinct 2 trail that ends in San Juan. “I was inspired by Eddie Cantu to do something similar for Precinct 1.”

Fuentes’ Precinct 1 runs from Mercedes to Weslaco and then westward to the Alamo/San Juan areas. The precinct also includes the Delta Area. The commissioner’s immediate focus was a trail that could start in Weslaco and then run along Donna before concluding on the outskirts of San Juan.

A funding breakthrough came through in the early 2020s via the American Rescue Plan. It was passed in 2021 to provide $1.9 trillion in economic stimulus in the aftermath of COVID-19. The law’s intent was to speed up the country’s recovery from the health and economic impacts of the pandemic. Sanchez was able to gain a $13 million grant from the rescue plan to construct his Mid-Valley-based hike-and-bike trail.

“Every single dollar went to it,” Fuentes said of the grant monies for his planned trail. “Then I had to make a sales pitch to the irrigation districts. Why do you want to help us create a trail?”

Building Partnerships  

The question was an important one because throughout the Rio Grande Valley the approval of irrigation and drainage districts along with other partnerships have been vital to building hike-and-bike trails.

In Harlingen, for example, the approval of the International Boundary and Water Commission and Texas Parks & Wildlife Department was needed to construct a trail along the Arroyo Colorado. In Precinct 2, Fuentes was able to gain the good will of the irrigation districts and school districts to run his trail through their properties. 

Strips of land along the canals of irrigation districts are ideal for hike-and-bike trails in that they can provide greenery and the verticality needed for exercising. Getting the engineering and preliminary site work came first, and the process moved efficiently in Precinct. By the end of 2025, the Donna section of the trail was completed, and early this year the trail made its way to Weslaco and its official start at Harlon Block Park.

Work is ongoing on the last stretches of the trail that will extend it to Alamo and San Juan. In all, once completed, the Precinct 2 trail will total nearly 16 miles in length. It will make it possible for cyclists and distance runners to traverse the miles between McAllen and Weslaco without going down a roadway.

“We took the lead and we’re grateful for the partnerships we were able to build to move the project forward,” Fuentes said in pointing out that the trail helped to spur Mid-Valley-area park improvements. “In Donna, with their new nature park, we said, ‘if you build something, we’ll connect to you.’ ’’

‘How Much It Means’

The Mid-Valley-based trails are just the latest of such projects that can now be found from Brownsville-to-Mission and in many cities in between.

There is a new hike-and-bike trail extension that links Edinburg and McAllen, and another that links Brownsville and Los Fresnos. Harlingen has plans to build a trail from the Hugh Ramsey Nature Park and extend it eastward to San Benito. Commissioner Fuentes is already seeing the benefits of the Precinct 2 trail thus far completed.

“We’re seeing families and friends walking together, and you can see how much it means to everyone,” he said. “It’s a health and wellness issue and it’s also something that builds stronger communities.”