This story originally appeared on CultureMap/Houston.

Houston-area hikers can look forward to a smoother path, thanks to recent national grant. The endowment will help build additional bridges along the Spring Creek Nature Trail, a 13-mile unpaved natural surface trail located in The Woodlands. 

The funds come just as the Spring Creek Nature Trail opened to the public on June 1 with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The trail runs through Montgomery and Harris County, following the contours of Spring Creek.

The Bayou Land Conservancy — which works to conserve land and protect Lake Houston — is one of nine non-profit organizations across the country to receive a trail grant from the American Hiking Society (and charter sponsor L.L. Bean). The goal of the project is to construct and anchor a boardwalk that can be utilized by multiple groups. The conservancy will engage trail volunteers in the design and build of the boardwalk.

“Building boardwalks on the trail will prevent rutting, soil compaction, and degradation of wetland habitat resulting from trail traffic,” said Jill Boullion, Executive Director of the conservancy, in a statement. “This is a low-impact solution so that trail users can experience Houston’s forested wetlands without impacting them ecologically.”