Nature lovers rejoice: The first major piece of foot trails on the Haw River Trail's Alamance County corridor is set to open this spring.

Three miles of trails between Indian Valley Golf Course and Glencoe Mill Village should be ready for use by summer. That's a drop in the bucket compared to the 60-plus miles planned between Haw River State Park in Rockingham County and Jordan Lake State Recreation Area.

Signs began going up along the route Wednesday. Several bridges over creeks will be set in the coming weeks

Brian Baker, Haw River Trail coordinator, has been in charge since the concept became a government project in May 2006. He said the full trail is years in the making.

"The finished picture is a long-term prognosis," Baker said. "We're going to open sections a few miles at a time and let people see what it is that way. It crosses public and private land, and that takes time. We're comfortable with the concept that it's not going to be done this year or any time soon. It crosses public, private land. It takes time. We're comfortable with the concept that it's not going to be done this year or any time soon. We've made it a point not to say a date."

That doesn't mean the trail isn't being used.

Kayakers and canoers have been on the Haw for years, now encouraged by seven official paddle accesses to the paddle-trail sections. Baker anticipates two or three more access points opening this year as the paddle-trail initiative winds down.

Spring will be busy on the trail for other reasons.

The first Yee-Haw! River Paddle happens April 19. The daylong event based at Glencoe Park will host a 7-mile trek for experienced paddlers, a half-mile trip for beginners, as well as family activities and paddling lessons for novices.

More far-reaching is the effort to conserve land along the corridor. Baker is organizing the Haw River Land Stewards program to keep property owners along the banks and trail informed and get the word out about new watershed regulations and tax incentives.

Initial meetings are ongoing but about 50 property owners have attended those startup meetings and agreed to display signs touting the group's name on their mailboxes.

The finished trail will be a major component of the state's proposed Mountains to Sea Trail, which will span from Clingman's Dome in the Appalachians to Jockey's Ridge on the Outer Banks. About 30 miles of the Haw River Trail will be listed on the statewide route.

Concerted efforts to develop the trail began in 2006, when 10 government agencies teamed up to complete two sections in the upper Haw basin and the lower Haw basin. Burlington, Graham, Alamance County, Elon University, Preservation North Carolina and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation fund Baker's position.