Sometimes, it takes 18 years to get something that seems simple completed.
Take, for instance, the Tissaw Trailhead, which officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, June 27. The community of Cornville has long petitioned for a trailhead on Tissaw Road, where an informal parking lot has existed for years.
Helped by vocal support from Yavapai County District 2 Supervisor Thomas Thurman, Yavapai County has worked with the National Forest Service for several years to develop a trail system near the communities of Bridgeport and Cornville on national forest lands.
The county and the Forest Service previously completed a trailhead on Zalesky Road and, via a Forest Service grant, are now working to complete the Tissaw Link, which will connect to a larger trail system, including the Zalesky Loop and as far as Windmill Park in downtown Cornville.
“A mere 18 years later, and here we are,” former Yavapai County District 3 Supervisor Chip Davis said, earning laughter from his audience and praising the efforts of locals who would see the long span of the project through to completion.
“There’s been a hell of a lot that’s taken place to get this trailhead done.”
“If there’s one thing Cornville is, it’s a community,” current Yavapai County District 3 Supervisor Randy Garrison said, adding that though the majority of the trail system lies in Thurman’s district, it begins in Garrison’s.
“All good things start here,” he joked.
Due to the wildfire that raged near Goodwin and Poland Junction the week of the Tissaw Trailhead ribbon cutting, Thurman was unable to attend. Garrison said that he would accept the credit on behalf of Thurman, and likewise praised Davis for his years working to see the trailhead and link established.
“I didn’t really have anything to do with this, so it would be in poor taste for me to take credit,” Garrison said.
To reach Tissaw Trailhead from State Route 89A, take E. Cornville Road and turn south on S. Tissaw Road until you see signs for the trailhead.
