“The ground was at times hard to see, covered as it was with crisp fallen leaves. But with each step, the crunch of fresh gravel underneath reassured one that the path was true.These trails are wonderful, said Deborah Cheadle, pausing from her daily stroll to admire the work. They’re so beautiful, for one thing.The new pathways – two miles long, and growing – come with the development by Kelly Samson of several large parcels purchased from Port Blakely Tree Farms.North of Blakely Harbor, on property abutting the Eagledale neighborhood, a circuitous trail network is now open for public use, with temporary signs going up this week.Tuesday, Samson strolled the trails with representatives of the city, the park district and the South Bainbridge Community Association, all of whom played a part in the trail network’s design.The morning was sunny and brisk; new homes were going up on several lots, with a handful of neighbors out enjoying the weather and the forested routes.Cheadle, an Eagledale resident, and her family are among those already using them for morning walks.I’m just really grateful, she said. Kelly’s done a thoughtful job.The trails skirt and at several points bisect Samson’s Mill Heights, Blakely Hill and West Blakely developments, all generally large-lot projects. In fact, the area south of Eagledale, and another west of the harbor and bounded by West Blakely and Country Club roads, are being developed at about half-density. North of the harbor, Samson said, about 35 homes will go in on 200 acres. In West Blakely, an estimated 24 lots are being created on 120 acres, with another mile or so of trails now in the works.Conservation easements are being recorded, to prevent the land from further subdivision or construction.Completion of the trails – hewn through scenic wooded glens, and improved with crushed gravel – comes as the city undertakes a comprehensive planning process for bicycle and pedestrian access around the island. A recent workshop drew 90 citizens, including Samson, to help chart future connections.One of the challenges Samson said he has found is the lack of a clear mechanism for dedicating trails for public use, except by going through a subdivision process of some sort.Even in incorporating them into his own development plans, Samson said, he had to consider how public trails skirting some of the home sites would affect his marketing efforts.We were really concerned about how people will look at a trail – as an asset or a liability, he said. So far, buyers have been pretty ecstatic about them.They see their kids on them.The south end could see still more trails, if Samson can put another deal together. He has an option to purchase more Port Blakely land, and would like to forge a new link with Blakely Harbor Park. If that and several other connections come together, he said, the network could stretch north to Creosote, and south to Fort Ward State Park.The trails are being deeded to the park district for public use, and Samson was honored by the district last week for his contribution.Perry Barrett, park district planner, said the trails plan helped secure state grant funding for the purchase of Blakely Harbor Park itself.Said Samson: It worked kind of both ways. The trails have somewhere to go now.In fact, the network salvages a key public amenity once touted by the Port Blakely Mill Co., which proposed an 853-home residential and commercial development on its 1,153 contiguous acres in the early 1990s. The plan was abandoned in 1994 – and with it the promise of trails – in the face of public opposition. The assumption was, you needed 900 homes to pay for these trails, Samson said. I hope that’s not true.I’ll know in two years. “