Trumbull Canoe Trails will celebrate its 50th anniversary during a July 20 gathering at Lowellville Waterfront Park.

      The observance will begin at 11 a.m. at the park, which has a Mahoning River boat launch at the west end of Water Street.

     The event will feature the club’s annual picnic and a canoe and kayak trip from Struthers to the Lowellville launch.

     Trumbull Canoe Trails was founded in 1975 as a concerned citizens’ group interested in promoting canoeing on the Mahoning River and other Trumbull County waters.

     TCT was instrumental in establishing Trumbull Canoe Park, now known as Foster MetroPark, which has a boat launch into the river at Pricetown.

     A major long-term canoe club effort was the establishment of the 23-mile Mahoning River Water Trail. This state-designated water trail runs from Foster MetroPark to Packard Park in Warren.

    The club erected mile-marker signs along the river and danger signs alerting paddlers to river hazards.

     It also donated money toward installation of the boat launch ramp at Thomas A. Swift MetroPark in Braceville.

    In recent years, removals of dams in Lowellville, Struthers and Warren have been major steps toward the club’s goal of making the Mahoning River a safe and accessible recreational waterway.

    Today, TCT organizes canoe and kayak trips on creeks, rivers and lakes throughout northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania from early spring to late fall.