It doesn't have to be fancy. It doesn't have to be pretty. It doesn't even have to be connected.

The most important part of exercise is that it happens. The most crucial thing about physical activity is that it gets done.

There are countless opportunities and options for exercise locally. Positioned right near the top of that list is Manheim Township's pathways.

"The folks who use our pathways are people who enjoy the outdoors," said Anthony Vallone, who's been Manheim Township's community development manager for two years. "They want to walk, or they need to walk for health reasons. The users love to connect with nature. A lot of the people who come here love the beautiful vistas and want to breathe the fresh air."

There are 29 designated pathways - trails, bikeways and walkways - in Manheim Township covering a total of 30 miles. Most are between 0.2 miles to 3 miles in length, and they are spread out across the township.

Some are accessible from parking lots and trailheads, and some are not. Some connect with other pathways, parks and schools, and others stand alone. Some are situated on public lands maintained by Manheim Township, and some are positioned on private land.

Manheim Township pathways are used for walking, biking, running and walking dogs.

Perhaps the best way to characterize the pathways is to call them segments or a series, but not a system.

"There are lots of segments, and it's not complete," said Vallone. "It's hard to tell where one starts and one ends. We've been calling them pathways so long, but they're really multi-use paths. They're meant for different uses. We sometimes interchange trails, bikeways and pathways, and a sidewalk is a different thing. Part of my job is to make people understand the difference between the two."

Spread over a total area of 24 square miles, Manheim Township's population of 44,000 residents is the second-largest of any municipality in Lancaster County.

"I think (the pathways are) being heavily used," said Vallone. "I can tell you that people are using them here. These things are super popular, and people want more of them. We're trying to connect with other municipalities to make new pathways and make them more friendly for all of our users."

Though details are uncertain, the origin of Manheim Township's pathways seems to date back to the 1980s. One of the township's oldest and most recognized pathways is Heritage Trail in Landis Woods Park.

"Our pathways started decades ago," said Vallone. "We've been building them all over the township for years because residents want to walk their dogs and ride their bikes. As folks were discovering what a wonderful place this is to live, we decided we needed to have places for people to walk. As time progressed, we've done as much as we can to work with developers and engineers to create the pathways and enhance them. We're at a point where we have a very large network of pathways."

"We have a lot of traffic in the township," he continued. "We want to give our residents choices for getting around here. Pathways have helped Manheim Township think about how we move around in more ways than getting behind the wheel of a car. Why should we have to get in a car to get a loaf of bread that's two blocks away?"

For additional information about Manheim Township, go to http://www.manheimtownship.org.