Webinars & Training

Upcoming Events

Sept. 10 | Webinar

Trails Across America: Grant Funding for Historical Markers That Elevate Trailside History

Discover how your trail can become a platform for preserving and promoting the unique history of your community. In this one-hour webinar, hosted by Rails to Trails Conservancy and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, you’ll learn about the Trails Across America marker grant program, which provides fully funded cast-aluminum roadside markers to commemorate historically significant people, places and events along more than 42,000 miles of multiuse trails nationwide.

Susan Hughes will introduce the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and its mission to help communities celebrate their local history through markers grounded in thoroughly vetted, primary source-based research. Amy Kapp will highlight the power of storytelling on trails and how markers can amplify the meaning of place. Together, they will outline the marker grant application process, offer tips for selecting compelling historical subjects and share inspiring examples of recent markers. The workshop will also explore how trailside historical markers foster pride of place, support tourism and preserve local history for future generations.

Whether you manage a trail, represent a nonprofit or are passionate about public history, this session will equip you with the guidance and tools to bring your community’s stories to life.

1.0 AICP CM credits available.

Sept. 18 | Webinar

TrailNation Spotlight: Trails and Greenways: Beyond the Path

Join Rails to Trails Conservancy for the third installment of our TrailNation Spotlight webinar series, featuring the nationally recognized multidisciplinary design firm, SmithGroup. The session will explore their approach to working with communities to plan and design trail systems that are sustainable, accessible, and connected to local destinations, while also supporting broader community revitalization. Their work can be seen on notable trails including the Dequindre Cut Greenway , the Detroit Riverwalk and many more.

1.0 AICP CM credits available.

Sept. 25 | Webinar

Protect Railbanking Against Congressional Attack

Railbanking, established in 1983 as an amendment to the National Trails System Act, is the foundational law making possible thousands of miles of rail-trails nationwide. Recently, a bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would effectively destroy the viability of railbanking going forward, resulting in fragmented and lost corridors—and poses a threat to thousands of miles of existing rail-trails. The so-called “Rails to Trails Landowner Rights Act” was reintroduced as H.R. 4924 on Aug. 8 and includes even more damaging provisions than a previous version of the bill introduced in 2024. This bill is an unconstitutional attack on railbanking, violating Fifth Amendment rights, masquerading as a series of process improvements that are anything but.

Join RTC’s policy staff on Sept. 25 at 2 p.m. Eastern for this conversation about the implications of the “anti rail-trail bill” and your role in helping to stop its progress. This is where you’ll get the most up-to-date insight into what’s unfolding. Before the webinar, you can read the full text at rtc.li/antirailtrailbill and learn more about railbanking at railstotrails.org/railbanking.

Sept. 30 | Webinar

TrADE Talk: Transportation Alternative Trends and Transformative Impact

Join the TrailNation Collaborative, powered by Rails to Trails Conservancy, as we explore RTC’s recently released TrADE report and hear from regional planning professionals about how they are innovatively using their state’s Transportation Alternatives (TA) program funds to invest in large-scale connectivity projects.  

1.0 AICP CM credits available.

Oct. 3 | Virtual Meeting

Western Regional Trail Leaders Meeting

Please join Rails to Trails Conservancy for the Western Regional Trail Leaders meeting. This event will bring together trail planners, open space managers and advocates working to advance trail networks in the states of California, Oregon and Washington. The intention is to create a peer-learning environment where experts focused on recreational trails and active transportation can share best practices, challenges and opportunities. This convening will spotlight a regional trail network in each state and include ample opportunities for open discussion and skill-sharing amongst participants.

Please bring your questions, successes and hurdles to troubleshoot. Presenters: Robert Spurlock and Layne Wyse, Oregon METRO Davíd Urbana, Cascade Bicycle Club Toshi Shepard-Ohta, Metropolitan Transportation Commission. All attendees will be treated to lunch via gift certificates to a food delivery service.

Audience: California, Oregon and Washington trail leaders

Oct. 27-29, 2025 | In-person

TrailNation Summit

Rails to Trails Conservancy’s TrailNation™ Summit is where the vision of trail networks at the center of healthy, thriving communities becomes reality. Participants will be immersed in a learning experience designed to gain the skills and build the necessary connections with professionals and advocates from different fields, geographies, and areas of expertise to accelerate the development of country’s 150+ trail networks.

13.0 AICP CM credits available.

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