alanpmarrero The Olympic Trail in Crete,Greece

Project Overview
In the summer of 2003, 17 undergraduate and graduate planning students spent the season working for the Municipality of Hersonissos in Crete, Greece. We studied the effects of tourism on the small towns east of the main city of Iraklio. I worked with two other students to design a hiking trail that showcased and protected the natural, cultural and historical resources of the Langada Valley for the 2004 Olympic activities and celebrations. Our group designed the trail to follow the 'way of the water' for an old watermill system that once included over 40 watermills, which at one time produced the most bread on the island.

The Groups Activities
The trail passed through 3 small towns and included many other special interest points including watermills, viewing vistas and a monestary. We iterviewed people in the towns to discover local history. Approximately 80% of the designed trail utilized existing paths made by townspeople and goat herders. We blazed the remaining parts of the trail with a local hiker to mark the areas needed to be constructed by the municipality after we had gone. In our final report we included a construction timeline to ensure that the trail would be built by the start of the 2004 Olympics. Our report also had designs for signage and furniture that reflected historical details along the trail.

Using old army maps, we were able to match up the path of the trail to our limited GIS information

An image of me exploring one of many watermills along the trail

Some instances called for us to do some initial clearing of the path. Here I am clearing an opening to get inside one of the watermills

We got some special opportunities to interview local people to find special interest points along the trail and learn local history

The Olympic Trail
The Olympic Trail is a 4.5 kilometer linear trail between the villages of Ano Kera, Kato Kera, and Gonies located in the interior of the Municipality of Hersonissos at the base of the Lassithiotika Mountains separating the Langada Valley and the Plateau of Lassithi. The trail goes through Panagia's Gorge with trail heads located southeast of Ano Kera and at Gonies. The elevation difference between the two trail heads is approximately 520 meters. Hiking the trail requires no special equipment and is not difficult. Any physically fit person can complete it in 2.5 hours at a leisurely pace.

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We provided detailed maps of the path including images of obstacles for construction and the type of work needed to be done.

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We also designed trail markers, signage and viewing vistas.

News story about the Olympic Trail on the University of Cincinnati's website

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