PARKER, Armstrong County — The City of Parker is set to become the first official Trail Town for a Butler County group in charge of maintaining nearly 50 miles of hiking trails in the region.

Members of the North Country Trail Association’s Butler County Chapter said the dedication event will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at 100 N. River Ave., just north of the Parker bridge.

The event will be followed by a variety of hikes for all skill levels, presented by the Butler County group, which maintains about 45 miles of trails from the Lawrence County border to the City of Parker.

The brief ceremony will feature state Rep. Donna Oberlander, R-63rd, as well as Armstrong County commissioners, said Dan Mourer, a past president of the Butler County Chapter.

Mourer said the Trail Town designation means Parker will have a chance to stand out on maps and a website developed by the trail association’s national office.

The resources allow long-distance hikers to plan stop-offs and resupply trips as they walk the North Country Trail, which stretches from North Dakota to upstate New York and will be 4,600 miles long, and include Butler County, when it is complete.

“It’s just nice to have one. It’s sort of a nationwide program and this is a first for our chapter,” Mourer said. “It gives Parker a little chance to stand out.”

Parker is an important location because it abuts the Allegheny River and acts as a gateway to more than 100 miles of trails that take hikers through the Allegheny National Forest, he said.