A coin collection placed on the trail brought in about $200 each week in anonymous small change donations, enough to cover a good portion of the $95,000 project, according to county officials.
The 6-mile paved trail will now at is south entrance feature four concrete vault toilet buildings featuring concrete walls, windows, new fixtures and full accessibility. The toilets are also cleaner and less costly to maintain than the six porta-potties previously at the entrance to the trail located at the junction of Skyline Boulevard and Crystal Springs Road near the Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir, county officials said.
"In all honesty, the porta-potties really detracted from the outdoor experience," Parks Director Dave Holland said. "But replacing those porta-potties was an expensive undertaking that we could not have accomplished without the help of our dedicated visitors."
Another expensive undertaking the parks department would like to complete on the Sawyer Camp Trail is the addition of drinking water to the southern entrance for the estimated 300,000 people who use the trail each year, according to county officials.
Information about the Sawyer Camp Trail, including directions on how to get there, is available online.
