2026 Green Issue
Mather Gorge | Photo courtesy Getty Images
Rails to Trails Magazine
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Rails to Trails magazine is dedicated to exploring America’s remarkable rail-trails and trail networks, with a focus on the impact they have in communities nationwide. Published quarterly—three times per year in print plus one all-multimedia edition—the magazine is a benefit of membership to Rails to Trails Conservancy. Subscribe now to get great trail content while supporting RTC and the trails movement.
Subscribe to the Magazine
Rails to Trails magazine is a benefit of membership to Rails to Trails Conservancy, which is $18 a year, $4 of which supports the magazine. In addition to the magazine, members receive discounts on RTC gifts and publications.
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Green Issue 2026
Celebrating milestones of the national trails movement—that’s the theme of this year’s 2026 Green Issue of Rails to Trails as we observe America’s 250th birthday and the 40th anniversary of Rails to Trails Conservancy.
Through stories of the trails we love, the communities they inspire and the connections they create, we’ve paused to examine the profound and powerful ways these vital assets continue to bring positive change across America.
In this edition, we:
- Hear from a team of veterans bicycling across the country on the Great American Rail-Trail®, as well as elected leaders and residents, about how trails are transforming the American experience.
- Take a look at how RTC—at the forefront of the trails movement—has helped see game-changing rail-trails to fruition in collaboration with communities from around the United States.
- Explore eight unique and awe-inspiring trailside geological wonders identified and featured through the U.S. Geological Survey’s Geoheritage Sites of the Nation project.
- Explore how communities, funders and public leaders have come together to make the Circuit Trails into one of the most effective, collaborative and nationally significant trail networks in the nation.
- Hear from members of #TeamRTC as they show off some of their favorite and most inspiring landscapes, art and attractions found along America’s multiuse trails.
- And much more!
Read More Magazine Stories
View More Blogs
Safe by Design: Examining the Impact of Trails and Bike-Ped Infrastructure on Safety in America
Exploring the Nation’s Trailside Geoheritage Sites
America 250: Reflecting on the Past, Present and Future of the Trails Movement
Washington’s Eastrail: July 2026 Trail of the Month
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: Pennsylvania’s Delaware & Lehigh Trail
Best Of: Trailside Sites That Encapsulate America’s History
Headwaters Trail System Honors Sacajawea’s Critical Navigation of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Trail Moments | Sally Olds’ Four Decades of Support
How TrailLink Put America’s Trails on the Map
Digital Feature Videos
In the all-multimedia Green Issue, Rails to Trails magazine takes a closer look at the leadership, public investment and community collaboration that is fueling efforts to create and connect trails—and bring this essential infrastructure to communities that have long been disinvested and under-resourced.
The Trail Between Us: Coming Together, One Mile at a Time
At a time when it can feel hard to get outside, to find connection and to discover joy in the details of everyday life, trails deliver something special to towns and cities across America. These are the spaces where we find common ground and where communities thrive. On the trail, we are invited to explore, to play and to get to know our neighbors. In this special feature, Rails to Trails visits Norfolk, Nebraska, the midpoint of the Great American Rail-Trail®, and talks with residents, elected leaders, and a team of veterans bicycling across the country about how these spaces are transforming the American experience.
Produced by Rails to Trails Conservancy and DS Simon Media
Special thanks to Visit Norfolk Area, the City of Norfolk, the Town of Battle Creek, Congressman Mike Flood and Warrior Expeditions.
Photo Essays
View More Blogs Great American Rail-Trail Guidebook Sneak Peek
Destination: Utah’s Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail State Park
A View From … Pacific Northwest Guidebook Sneak Peek
Destination: Washington State’s Spokane River Centennial State Park Trail
Destination: Utah’s Moab Canyon Pathway and Arches National Park
A View From: Kansas City’s Riverfront Heritage Trail
Subscribe to the Magazine
Rails to Trails magazine is a benefit of membership to Rails to Trails Conservancy, which is $18 a year, $4 of which supports the magazine. In addition to the magazine, members receive discounts on RTC gifts and publications.
Past Magazine Issues
View digital versions of past issues below or contact us for back issues.
We Want to Hear From You!
Our members always have plenty to say (and write) about Rails to Trails—and we’re always eager to hear it! If you enjoyed or have comments on a recent issue of the magazine, please submit a short letter to our editor. If we can—we’ll print it in the next edition! You can also contact us for former issues and articles of Rails to Trails not listed in the archive. Don’t forget to check out our TrailBlog for more stories.
