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.

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

The P2P corridor heads east out of the Ohio River port city of Parkersburg, along the North Bend Rail Trail, through small, rural communities like Cairo, West Union and Salem. Seventy-eight percent of the 150-mile West Virginia section is already complete, with a few key gaps in Wood, Harrison and Marion counties.

Executive Summary: In West Virginia, an incredible opportunity awaits. The 238-mile Parkersburg to Pittsburgh (P2P) rail-trail is already nearly 80 percent complete; just a few short gaps exist in West Virginia to unlock a contiguous 150-miles-plus stretch of the rail-trail from Parkersburg to the state’s border with Pennsylvania. Completing these short gaps in Wood, Harrison […]

RTC’s put together this little trail-geek cheat sheet so that we can all bone up on our trail and active-transportation policy speak.

Did you know that one of America’s largest trail networks is in your backyard? This region is the proud home of the Circuit Trails, a vast regional network of hundreds of miles of multi-use trails that is growing each year. The Circuit connects our local communities, providing endless opportunities for recreating and commuting.  What is […]

An announcement made on Sept. 30 of a cooperative agreement has been reached to purchase a 17.7-mile section of disused Rock Island Corridor.

This guide serves to help local trail advocates interact with railroad companies when pursuing a trail on or adjacent to active or unused trail beds. It works to further advocates’ understanding of the economic and regulatory contexts which railroads operate in, as well as their interests and concerns with trail projects. This guide provides assistance […]

This document is a sample agreement between a non-profit or political subdivision and a railroad for interim trail use/railbanking. The document serves as a resource and should not be relied on as a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a licensed attorney.