Healthy West Orange Trails Connection

Trail Project Grant Program – APPLICATIONS OPEN

The Healthy West Orange Trails Connection (HWOTC) has announced it will award $500,000 to local organizations through its Trail Project Grant Program. Organizations will receive up to $100,000 to support short-term projects that promote, activate, or enhance the trail network in west Orange County. To learn more, click here.

Connecting Healthy Communities

Bringing together partners to promote, activate and enhance the trail system by creating opportunities for physical activity, social engagement, prosperity, and happiness.

Getting outdoors – whether to walk, bike, play or just take in the environment – is key to West Orange residents becoming the healthiest in the nation. The Healthy West Orange Trails Connection (HWOTC) was formed to promote, activate and enhance the trail system to create opportunities for physical activity, social engagement, prosperity, and happiness. Our goal is to connect a dynamic regional trail system that we can all enjoy close to home.

HWOTC Request for Proposal

The Healthy West Orange Trails Connection (“HWOTC”) invites you to submit a proposal of services for multi-use trail planning and feasibility study, according to the Scope of Work included in the Request for Proposals (available for download, below), to address regional connectivity needs in the HWOTC Priority Area.

Project Background

In 2023, an in-depth analysis was conducted to identify and evaluate opportunities to close trail gaps between HWOTC Partner Cities and Towns, and to create connections to the Statewide SUN Trail Network. This study aimed to identify options for creating a high-impact trail network by connecting as many of the existing and previously planned trails together with as few new trail connections as possible.

Building on that foundation, HWOTC spent 2024 and early 2025 developing a vision for three priority trail corridors that would link partner communities to one another and to the broader Statewide SUN Trail system. The resulting HWOTC Priority Trails Network is shown in the online map available here: HWOTC Priority Trails Webmap.

Moving forward, the Steering Committee reached consensus on updated priorities for the use of funds originally set aside by the WOHD for trail project implementation, deciding that a portion of those funds would be used to commission a vision-wide planning and feasibility study yielding confidence in the trail alignments and planning-level cost estimates for future use.

PURPOSE

  • Position the trail network as a unified system with potential to be considered in regional and state trail planning efforts and funding programs.
  • Identify project constraints and opportunities
  • Verify trail alignment
  • Obtain cost estimates

ANTICIPATED TIMELINE

Deadline for Submitting Questions: – 1:00PM, Wednesday May 27, 2026

Proposal Submission Deadline: – 1:00PM, Monday June 8, 2026

Shortlisted Vendor Presentations to HWOTC Steering Committee: – 11:00AM, Thursday July 2, 2026

Vendor Recommendation to FHWO Board of Directors: – Wednesday July 22, 2026

Recommendation Review by FHWO Board of Directors: – Wednesday August 12, 2026, OR Thursday September 24, 2026

To view the full request for proposal:

To download Addendum 1:

To download Addendum 2:

To submit:

Contact Information

RFP Coordinator:

Patrick Panza, Vice President / Operations Director

Bike/Walk Central Florida

patrick@bikewalkcf.org

407-542-6074 x.705

The HWOTC Steering Committee

  • City of Ocoee

  • City of Winter Garden

  • Foundation for a Healthier West Orange

  • Gotha Rural Settlement

  • Town of Oakland

  • Town of Windermere

  • West Orange Healthcare District Designee

Supporting partners

  • Bike/Walk Central Florida

  • City of Apopka

  • Florida Department of Health – Orange County

  • Florida Department of Transportation

  • MetroPlan Orlando

  • Orange County

  • West Orange Chamber of Commerce

Enhancing the Trails

Thankfully, West Orange already has some of the best trails around. But how do we build on our existing trails and multi-use paths and connect our residents to where they need to go? And how do we encourage our community to get out and take advantage of these trails? That’s what the West Orange Healthcare District asked a task force to consider, research and report. The resulting Healthy West Orange Trails Initiative Report is a first step and guideline for the HWOTC.

Resources

We’re working on a NEW Trail Events map – a space where you can find all the events happening on or around our trail system. We’re still testing and improving, but explore and enjoy the work in progress.

View the Healthy West Orange Trails Initiative Report.

View the Healthy West Orange Trails Connection Annual Report

Getting Involved

There are a number of ways to stay connected:

Stay Active

During this process, there are ample opportunities to stay active on our trails and around the community. Healthy West Orange is your partner to help you eat well, stay active, and enjoy life.

Contact Us

Do you have ideas for activating, enhancing and connecting our trails? We want to hear from you. Learn more, get involved or ask a question.

Healthy West Orange Trails Connection Meetings

The HWOTC is actively meeting to implement the recommendations of the Initiative Report, with the large group of stakeholders coming together quarterly at the in person Steering Committee Meetings posted below at 1200 E. Plant Street, Suite 200 in Winter Garden, FL. HWOTC Executive Committee meetings occur bi-monthly via zoom. Should you wish to join the meetings or need special accommodations, please contact us at amendyk@fhwo.org or 407-337-6919 no later than 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Executive committee meetings will be held at 4 p.m. on:

July 20, 2026

September 21, 2026

Steering committee meetings will be held at 11 a.m. (unless noted otherwise) on:

July 2, 2026

September 17, 2026

Minutes

Agendas