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Blog
Eight Critical Wins for TrailNation in 2018
December 04, 2018

Here is a spotlight on some of the critical TrailNation project advances we made in 2018—and how they are bringing to life our vision of trails at the heart of healthy, thriving communities.

Baltimore, Maryland | Photo by Side A Photography
Blog
Protecting Trails in 2018: Five Ways We Mobilized in Communities This Year
November 14, 2018

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) and the national trail community put itself on the front lines to protect and defend trails in 2018. Here are five ways we mobilized in communities this year.

Baltimore, Maryland | Photo by Side A Photography
Blog
Pete Raynor, Railbanking Author, Named 2018 Rail-Trail Champion
September 26, 2018

Pete Raynor, central author of Railbanking legislation, was named 2018 Rail-Trail Champion. The 1983 Railbanking Act helped make many trails.

2018 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champions Award ceremony | Photo by Hung Tran
Blog
Bright Horizons: Florida’s Miami LOOP
January 11, 2018

Approximately 54 percent complete to date, the Miami LOOP is a 225-mile trail vision to expand transportation options, make biking and walking safer and more equitable.

The Atlantic Greenway in South Beach is part of Florida’s 225-mile developing Miami LOOP. | Photo by Lee Smith
Blog
A View From … The National Trails System
January 02, 2018

We celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System Act and Five rail-trails that weave in and around them.

Great Shasta Rail Trail | Photo by Christina Schmidlin with Hellikon, courtesy Great Shasta Rail Trail Association
Blog
10 Trails Named After Influential Women
March 07, 2017

For Women’s History Month, we honor this visionary woman and others who have made extraordinary impacts in their own communities and for the nation. In some cases, their legacy lives on in the names of trails that are used and loved by communities.

Sacagawea statue | Photo courtesy Charles Dawley | CC by 2.0
Blog
Honoring the Legacy of African-American Cycling Legend Major Taylor
February 15, 2017

In the late 1890s, an African-American dynamo exploded onto the bicycle racing scene at record-breaking speeds: Marshall “Major” Taylor.

Taylor on the chainless bicycle on which he won the world championship and broke world records in 1899. Uncredited photo, Taylor scrapbook. | Courtesy Major Taylor Association, Inc.
Blog
Former Congressman Tom Petri Named RTC’s 2016 Rail-Trail Champion
December 05, 2016

RTC is pleased to name former U.S. Congressman Tom Petri as the 2016 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champion in recognition of his decades of support for rail-trails and active transportation infrastructure.

A nostalgic image of former Congressman Tom Petri biking with his daughter Alexandra (now a columnist with the Washington Post) and wife Ann (DeDe) Petri | Photo courtesy Tom Petri
Blog
Pathway to Prosperity: Missouri’s Katy Trail Is a Beautiful Model for Commerce
December 01, 2016

Missouri’s Katy Trail supports small businesses across the state and serves as a model for other rail-trail projects nationwide.

Trail's End Monument in Sedalia, 35 miles east of the Katy Trail's western end in Clinton, celebrating Sedalia's history as the first cow town | Photo by Danielle Taylor
Blog
Former R.E.M. Tour Manager Creates Rural Connections in Washington
November 06, 2016

It may be a no-brainer that Seattle-born Bobby Whittaker has always loved the outdoors, having been raised by the first American to summit Mt. Everest.

Bobby Whittaker, president of Ferry County Rail Trail Partners, with 770-foot trestle over Curlew Lake in background | Photo by Rich Landers