Cindy Barks

Starting in the Utah mountain community of Park City, the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail stretches for 28 miles to the northeast through the historic towns of Wanship and Coalville and ends at the Echo State Park. Along the way, it descends from an elevation of about 6,500 feet in Park City to 5,500 feet […]

Even before the Union Pacific Railroad discontinued its train operations on its historic line between Park City, Utah, and Echo Reservoir in 1989, local outdoorsman Dick Stoner saw the route’s potential for recreation and transportation. “I fished the Weber River quite a bit when I was younger, and I would ride the trail when there […]

Trail of the Month: February 2025 As a supporting player in the larger Chuck Huckelberry Loop (which took top trail honors in USA Today’s Readers’ Choice polls in both 2021 and 2022), Tucson’s Rillito River Park Trail more than holds its own in the 137-mile trail network. Following the banks of Tucson’s seasonal Rillito River, […]

Trail of the Month: November 2024 You would never know by looking at the Burke-Gilman Trail today, bustling with nearly half a million people on it each year, that the popular route was once the site of a controversial campaign that was waged in a time when rail-trails were a novelty. But the nearly 20-mile […]

Trail of the Month: September 2024 Hawai’i’s Ke Ala Hele Makālae, which runs for about 8 miles along Kaua’i’s splendid Coconut Coast, was inducted into Rails to Trails Conservancy’s Hall of Fame this summer by securing nearly 45% of the public vote. The induction puts Ke Ala Hele Makālae in the company of several dozen exemplary […]

This photo essay features Washington’s Spokane River Centennial State Park Trail, a nearly 40-mile route that stretches from the Idaho border, through Spokane, to Nine Mile Falls. Fun Fact: Along the way, you can visit the site of the 1974 World’s Fair! Tap thumbnail to view photo gallery.

Experience the grandeur of the Moab Canyon Pathway—an otherworldly outdoor mecca with stunning red rock views, compliments of Arches National Park, and a diverse array of worldclass hiking and mountain biking trails. Tap thumbnail to view photo gallery.

Trail of the Month: January 2024 “The trail just encompasses everything and offers that opportunity to maintain good wellness for the citizens around the community.” —Lynn Beiswanger, a longtime Bismarck resident When the snow begins to pile up and temperatures plummet in the central North Dakota cities of Bismarck and Mandan, avid runner Josh Askvig […]

This is a manual excerpt.

The saga of the railroad line that cut a swath through the heart of South Dakota’s spectacular Black Hills 130 years ago is undeniably dramatic, with ties to the goldrush and infamous names like Deadwood, Custer and Wild Bill Hickok. Still, when it comes to pure determination and grit, the story that unfolded a century later of turning that historic […]

Around every bend of Tucson’s popular Chuck Huckelberry Loop, it seems, there is a new view of the rugged mountains that ring Arizona’s second-largest city. One of the beauties of the route, though, is that despite the craggy views, the trail is all smooth sailing. Made up of a continuous ribbon of blacktop, the trail is […]

Trail of the Month: June 2023 “It’s a multi-generational trail. You’ll see kids out there and retired people of an advanced age, and people from outside of the community.” —Veronica Pearson, the senior ecological restoration planner for Marin County Parks It’s a popular route for children heading to school, a place for retirees to get […]

Trail of the Month: Oct. 2022 “To say the Greenway is one of the community’s greatest amenities is an understatement. We’re very lucky to have such an amazing amenity within blocks of our houses.” —Alexander “Blue” Weber, Director of the area’s Downtown Development Association Entire neighborhoods were submerged, businesses went up in flames, and thousands […]

Kansas City’s Riverfront Heritage Trail weaves together history, river vistas and commerce. In 1804, Captain William Clark of Lewis and Clark expedition fame made an entry in his journal during a rest stop at the meeting point of the Missouri and Kansas rivers. Among his observations: The countryside at the confluence was very fine.  Even […]

Compelling stories are around every bend, it seems, on Kansas City’s signature urban trail. From the time when more than a dozen Indigenous tribes were active, to Lewis and Clark’s exploration of the vast region west of the Mississippi River, to the days when freedom seekers found refuge in safe houses along the Underground Railroad, […]

Trail of the Month: March 2022 “In a lot of ways, the Eastern Trail is a model of what could happen in the state.” —Jeremy Cluchey, volunteer member of the Maine Trails Coalition A couple times a week, Bob Hamblen takes to the Eastern Trail on his bike, riding through various sections of the route that traverses […]

All along a 144-mile stretch of Missouri’s old Rock Island Line, rural communities formerly known as railroad towns have been looking forward to a new possibility: a multiuse trail that would revitalize the long-unused train tracks. As the idea of the Rock Island Trail has gained steam in recent years, small central-Missouri towns have gone into preparation […]

Trail of the Month: Dec. 2021 “The real magic of this has been the partnerships. The Salt Lake Valley is made up of a lot of smaller jurisdictions … They all rallied around this project.” —Soren Simonsen, executive director, Jordan River Commission With the majestic Wasatch Mountains looming in the distance and bucolic wetlands attracting […]

Despite its somewhat under-the-radar locale in the very center of the United States, South Dakota has plenty of claims to fame when it comes to notable sights. In fact, several of the state’s best-known attractions also happen to be some of the nation’s most iconic images. From the starkly beautiful sandstone buttes of the Badlands National […]

Mention the landscapes of Alabama, and most people are apt to conjure up images of the beaches of the Gulf Shores region or the forested Talladega Mountains. And for good reason—the beaches are famous for their sugar-white sand, and the mountains offer epic views of tree-covered ridges and valleys. Still, Alabama has plenty more to offer […]

From the fertile flatlands of the Red River Valley in the east to the rugged badlands near Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the west, trails in North Dakota beautifully play up the history of the state that bills itself as the place “where legends are born.”  With a population of less than 1 million, North […]

Experience the Cloud-Climbing Trestle Trail, sometimes referred to as the Mexican Canyon Trestle Trail for the landmark feature at its end, a moderately challenging, but beautiful, climb through the Trestle Recreation Area in Cloudcroft. Along with the Crossover Trail and Switchback Trail, it makes for a stunning out-and-back hiking/mountain biking/horseback riding experience in Otero County, New […]

The whimsical name alone is enough to make New Mexico’s Cloud-Climbing Trestle Trail virtually irresistible. Add in the region’s splendid mountain scenery and fascinating history, and the 122-year-old railroad trestle in southern New Mexico is a road-trip-worthy destination. Located in a somewhat remote region high in the Sacramento Mountains in the Lincoln National Forest, the Cloud-Climbing Trestle Trail is […]

In a state known worldwide for its “Mighty Five” national parks, it should come as no surprise that the trails in Utah are monumental as well. Utah is home to a string of national parks that feature glowing sandstone arches, dreamlike rock hoodoos and luminous slot canyons. Accentuating all of that natural grandeur is a […]

From the vast chasm of the Grand Canyon to the cactus/tumbleweed landscape of the Sonoran Desert, Arizona’s trails are big on both views and culture. In fact, if its iconic scenes of the American West you’re after, the Grand Canyon State’s trails are among the best places to find them. Along with the classic desert […]

Trail of the Month: April 2021 “The idea that these paths came from flooding—it was a remarkable bit of city planning. The people with the county had a vision.” —Dan Gibson, Senior Director of Communications, Visit Tucson Trails in Tucson are having a moment in the national spotlight right now, and in the midst of […]

Between the fascinating railroad history and the stellar Lake Mead views, the Historic Railroad Trail in southern Nevada in Clark County packs quite a punch into its 3.7-mile route. Following the route of an early-1930s railroad that was built specifically to serve the construction of the nearby Hoover Dam, the trail offers a unique insight into that mammoth […]

Trail of the Month: February 2020 “This is something that created a common bond. It really pulled us all together. It really connects us all.” —Rutherford County Manager Steve Garrison Back in the early 2000s when the little towns in Rutherford County, North Carolina, were reeling from the impacts of the region’s collapsing textile industry, […]

From quiet pine forests to a bustling working waterfront, and from wide sandy beaches to rocky shores, the 65-mile Eastern Trail—currently 30 percent complete—offers a vivid snapshot of Maine’s many charms. The multiuse trail, which follows the corridor of the historic Eastern Railroad, packs plenty of variety into its north-south route from South Portland to Kittery. […]

Trail of the Month: March 2019 “Almost from infancy, the canal was a part of my life—fishing, swimming, ice skating. It was a wonderful childhood playground.” —Gary Wagle, founder and president of the Friends of the Hennepin Canal Stories run deep in the Hennepin Canal and the old towpath that runs alongside it. First an engineering pipedream; then […]

The Bayshore Bikeway is a growing 16-mile trail encircling the San Diego Bay and connecting the region’s most beautiful natural and cultural treasures. Part of the larger 515-mile San Diego Regional Bike Plan as well as the southern terminus of the 1,200-mile planned California Coastal Trail, the bikeway is playing an important role in a […]

Utah recently celebrated its completion of the Golden Spoke trail network, which comprises more than 100 miles of connected, paved trails linking Ogden, Salt Lake City and Provo. This photo essay showcases the natural wonders and unique infrastructure that make this urban trail network a rail-trail destination to behold. Featuring the Legacy Parkway Trail, Provo River Parkway, […]

This 225-mile trail network project throughout Miami-Dade County is taking the region to new levels of transportation, health, and economic and environmental resiliency. “In a big urban area like Miami-Dade, connec­tivity is very important.” —David Henderson, Intermodal Manager, Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization At barely 6 feet above sea level, and with urban development at maximum […]

In addition to their value for recreation and transportation, rail-trails provide public spaces to share our collective culture and history. In recognition of Veterans Day, we’ve highlighted three rail-trails that offer quiet, reflective places to honor and remember our country’s servicemen and women. MASSACHUSETTS World War II Veterans’ Memorial Trail Hundreds of thousands of U.S. […]

Trail of the Month: November 2017 “The connection between the trail and the train—it’s real.” Trains and trails: In Durango, Colorado, the two are inseparable. For walkers and bicyclists along the town’s scenic Animas River Trail, the white-and-gray plumes of steam rising from the old locomotives and the echo of train whistles are common sights and […]