A privilege of my job is to visit trails and public spaces across the country and meet inspiring supporters and leaders.

From the Delaware River to the Jersey shore, opportunities to enjoy trails and linear parks abound in the Garden State. Unfortunately, many people need to drive to a trail before experiencing their benefits.

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) recently approved more than $280 million in Active Transportation Program (ATP) funding (Cycle 4) to support 59 trail, walking and biking projects throughout the state, with about half—some $139 million—going to trails and separated bikeway projects (hereafter collectively referred to as “trails”).

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.

An active and enthusiastic crowd of trail advocates gathered to kick off the state’s newly formed Legislative Trails Caucus.

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.

RTC is excited to announce Marianne Wesley Fowler of Alexandria, Va., as this year’s Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champion.