The Missing Link Between Spring Creek Trail And Arcadia Lake Is Almost Paved

East Edmond has two good trail systems that have never met. One is Spring Creek Trail, which runs west from Spring Creek Park toward I-35. The other is the Arcadia Lake network, with miles of trail around the lake to the east. The City of Edmond's September 2026 engineering update says the piece that joins them should be finished in November. When it is, a walk that starts at the hospitals by the interstate can end at the lake without a car.

The order of the work is the odd part. The lake link is coming first. The short connection near I-35 that will tie the trail to the new library and YMCA is still waiting on an ODOT bid next year. On this side of town, the farther destination is getting connected before the nearer one.

Two Trail Systems Built Years Apart

Spring Creek Trail is the older paved spine. Go Edmond reports that it opened on Thanksgiving Day 2017 and was formally dedicated in spring 2018. The City's Spring Creek Trail map, last updated February 20, 2025, shows 2.9 miles from Spring Creek Park to I-35. Visit Edmond describes the path as 18 feet wide, with separate lanes for cyclists and for walkers and runners, and an underpass that carries it west of the interstate.

The Arcadia Lake side is bigger and more varied. On the City's 2026 trail map, the Arcadia Lake Trail runs 4 miles below the dam on the lake's east side to Edmond Park and the UCO Boathouse. The same map counts more than 35 miles of natural-surface trail around the lake. The map groups that dirt into three areas. The South Trails are beginner-friendly. The West Trails are harder but still beginner-friendly. The Dam and Postmortem trails are the hardest, with sandstone, lumber and rock features on the Dam Trails.

Each part of the network has its own best starting point:

The Integris trailhead is the one address on both lists, so it already acts as a hinge between the paved creek trail and the dirt. The Arcadia Lake Trail and Spring Creek Trail themselves have never been joined.

What 1.8 Miles Of Pavement Changes

The City's capital projects storymap describes the Arcadia Lake Trail NW Connector as 1.8 miles. It starts at Midwest Boulevard and reaches Spring Creek Trail over a low-water crossing. A City video on the project calls it paved, 18 feet wide, with designated lanes for different users. That matches the width of Spring Creek Trail, so the two will feel like one route.

The September 2026 engineering update gives the schedule. Construction began in February. When the update was written, the contractor was working on the low-water crossing, and the City expected the trail to be finished in November. The project is funded in part by an ODOT TAP grant. The City treats November as a target, not an opening date, so the ribbon may land a little earlier or later.

The same update names what the connector is meant to tie together: development along I-35, including Integris and Mercy hospitals, the new library and YMCA, Sam's Club and Walmart. This is the City's own aim. A long ride along the lake and a trip to the warehouse store are meant to share a route.

The Order The Rest Arrives In

The connector is one of several trail projects in the September update, and they are moving at very different speeds. Here they are from closest to finished to furthest out:

1. Arcadia Lake Trail NW Connector. Under construction, with completion expected in November.
2. Spring Creek Trail Extension along the I-35 north frontage road. This piece carries the Integris Hospital connection to Spring Creek Trail and links to the new YMCA and East Edmond Library. Plans were in final development, and utility relocations between 15th Street and the trailhead parking lot were almost complete. ODOT expects to bid it next year as part of its frontage road transition project, and the City says construction will cost Edmond nothing.
3. Spring Creek Trail, Creek Bend Phase 2. This includes a stormwater project, two bridges over Spring Creek and a connection to the Coltrane Road sidewalks. Design was moving from 60% to 90%. The City has applied for an ODOT TAP grant and was waiting to hear whether it won.
4. Arcadia Lake Trail, Spring Creek Park to Carl Reherman Park. The City calls this a segment of a trail "which will loop around the entire lake." Its 15% plans had just been reviewed and sent back to the consultant.

Put together, the list explains the sequence. The 1.8-mile link to the lake is nearly done. The frontage-road piece that brings the trail to the doors of the library and YMCA is much shorter, but it depends on a state roadway project, so it waits for ODOT's calendar. Our recent post on why Edmond put its newest library and YMCA on East 15th Street covered the buildings. The trail is how they will eventually join the rest of the corridor, after the lake link is already in place.

Edmond also gave residents a new way to follow projects like these. On October 15, 2026, the City announced a Development Tracker that maps zoning cases, site plans, plats and commercial building permits that have been submitted or recently approved.

Low Water, Winter Hours And The Days After Rain

The connector depends on a low-water crossing, which means it shares a weakness with the dirt trails around the lake. Go Edmond notes that the lake's multi-use singletrack has bridges and water crossings that can become impassable in rainy periods. In May 2025, News 9 reported that high water closed low roads and campground areas at Arcadia Lake off and on. The City told visitors to call 405-216-7470 for current conditions. That number is worth saving before a ride after a storm.

The season matters too. According to the City's FAQ, Arcadia Lake parks are open 24 hours a day, year-round, except Edmond Park and Scissortail Campground, which close for winter. The City also notes that hours and fees may change. If the connector opens in November, its first months will overlap with Edmond Park's winter closure. Spring Creek Park, the Integris trailhead and the Park Office on East 2nd Street are the likely winter starting points.

Storybook Forest Takes Over The Same Trailhead This Week

The trailhead at the center of all this has one more October job. Storybook Forest runs through Friday, October 30, at 7200 E. 15th St., the Spring Creek Park address where the trail begins. Visit Edmond lists hours of 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., with tickets at $15 per child and $5 per adult. Expect the parking lot to be busy in the evenings. Afternoon walks on Spring Creek Trail will be easier to park for than anything after dusk until the event ends.

After that, the next date to watch is the connector's opening, expected sometime in November. When the crossing opens, Spring Creek Park will sit in the middle of one continuous route between the lake and the interstate.

If you're curious how new trail links like this one are reshaping the east side of Edmond, Laura follows these projects closely and always enjoys trading notes over coffee. Reach out to Laura Loves Houses to schedule a consultation, or browse more East Edmond neighborhood stories in the meantime.