America's Trails

Eight Critical Wins for TrailNation in 2018

Posted 12/05/18 by Liz Thorstensen in America's Trails, Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, Best Of, Biking, California, Capital Trails Coalition, Circuit Trails, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Encouraging Trail Use, Facts and FIgures, Florida, Funding, Health and Active Living, Health Organizations, IHTC, Local Organizing, LowerRioGrande, Mapping and Technology, Maryland, Miami LOOP, New Jersey, Route of the Badger, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, TrailNation, Transportation and Health, Urban Pathways, Virginia, Walkability and Bikeability, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Baltimore, Maryland | Photo by Side A Photography

This past year, RTC worked with hundreds of partners across TrailNation to secure funding, provide technical expertise and generate public support for trail networks that are proving vital to the people and places they serve. Here is a spotlight on some of the critical project advances we made in 2018—and how they are bringing to life our vision of trails at the heart of healthy, thriving communities.

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A view of the Junction Bridge from La Petite Roche Plaza along the Arkansas River Trail, part of the Southwest Trail | Photo by Scott Stark

Arkansas’ Southwest Trail

Posted 11/29/18 by Robert Annis in America's Trails | Tagged with Arkansas, Best Of, Biking, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Health and Active Living, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Local Organizing, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability

Arkansas isn’t known for its rail-trails … yet. But after some recent success with paved corridors and unpaved, single-track paths, the Natural State’s newest rail-trail venture—the Southwest Trail—could bring both national attention and important local benefits.

Baltimore, Maryland | Photo by Side A Photography

Protecting Trails in 2018: Five Ways We Mobilized in Communities This Year

Posted 11/15/18 by Amy Kapp, Brandi Horton in America's Trails, Building Trails, Policy, Taking Action, Success Stories, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, BATC, Best Of, Case Studies, Community Events, Corridors and Railbanking, Demand for Trails, Disparities and Underserved Communities, Federal, Funding, Health and Active Living, IHTC, Legal Issues, Local Organizing, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rock Island, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Success Stories, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Transportation and Health, Urban Pathways, Walkability and Bikeability, Washington, Wisconsin

All across the country—from the great redwoods of California, to the trestles of Missouri, to the stream valleys and neighborhoods of Baltimore, Maryland—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.

Ohio to Erie Trail | Photo by Eric Oberg, courtesy RTC

Ohio’s Year of the Trails: Three Major Trail Developments in the Buckeye State

Posted 11/14/18 by Leeann Sinpatanasakul in America's Trails | Tagged with Repairs and Trail Safety, Demand for Trails, Disparities and Underserved Communities, Funding, Government Agencies, Health and Active Living, IHTC, Ohio, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Communities, TrailsTransform, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability

It’s officially the Year of the Trails in Ohio, and the Buckeye State is building significant momentum on trail projects, from Cleveland to Cincinnati and beyond. These projects are showing how cities and entire regions can leverage the impact of existing trails to create trail "spines," and biking and walking networks that connect people and places—providing safe and healthy ways to get outdoors, while generating new economic opportunities that revitalize neighborhoods and communities.

Flint Hills Trail State Park | Photo courtesy Kansas Tourism

Kansas’ Flint Hills Trail State Park

Posted 11/13/18 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Demand for Trails, Federal, Funding, Health and Active Living, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Kansas, Local Organizing, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability

Nestled into the gentle greens and golds of a vast prairie, rolling under leafy branches arched overhead like cathedral rooftops, and connecting small towns with friendly Midwestern charm, the Flint Hills Trail State Park proves there’s no place like Kansas.

San Antonio Riverwalk | Photo courtesy Getty Images

Where Will You #OptOutside on Nov. 23? (Here Are 8 Trails for the Bucket List!)

Posted 11/09/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Alaska, Best Of, California, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Kentucky, Ohio, OpeningDay, Texas, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail Use Tips, Urban Pathways, Virginia, Walkability and Bikeability, Winter Uses

Here are some of our favorite trails to help you #OptOutside on the day after Turkey Day, Nov. 23—straight from our staff and other trail users around the country. For lots more, check out RTC’s free trail-finder website, TrailLink.com, which maps more than 34,000 miles of multiuse trails!

Prescribe-a-Trail walkers at Valley Forge National Historical Park | Photo by Roy Perry

Prescribe-a-Trail: Walking to Happier and Healthier Lifestyles in Greater Philly

Posted 11/07/18 by Molly Duffy in Health and Wellness, Trail Use, America's Trails | Tagged with Circuit Trails, Community Events, Encouraging Trail Use, Featured Magazine Articles, Health and Active Living, Health Organizations, Healthy Aging, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, TrailNation, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability

Since 2015, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has been connecting hundreds of walkers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to healthier lifestyles through Prescribe-a-Trail (PAT), a program in which Philadelphia-area hospitals and health-care organizations lead outings on local trails along the Circuit Trails network (an RTC TrailNation™ project) to promote exercise, good nutrition and healthy lifestyles.

Mansion House Bridge Dedication Ceremony on the 2018 Sojourn | Photo by Wendy Palmer

On the Sunset of the Sojourn Series, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Looks Back on Its National Impact

Posted 11/05/18 by Tom Sexton in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, Circuit Trails, Community Events, Encouraging Trail Use, Facts and FIgures, Health and Active Living, History Happened Here, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy was honored to bring together 300 riders from 33 states on our 2018 Pennsylvania Sojourn to explore the exceptional D&L Trail. Over five days, we biked more than 160 miles, visited trailside communities, experienced the unique cultural and natural heritage of the region, and made new friends and everlasting memories.

Illustration by Anthony Le

Eight Haunted Tales from America’s Trails

Posted 10/30/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, Community Events, Encouraging Trail Use, History Happened Here, Maine, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Trail Destinations, Washington, West Virginia

In the “spirit” of fun this Halloween, RTC searched for the spookiest tales we could find on America’s diverse collection of rail-trails and multiuse pathways. Check out these seven great (and sometimes strange) tales below, which show that our connections to our trails and our communities can sometimes truly be … otherworldly.

Ahnapee State Park Trail | Photo by Ken Bryan

Nine Cool Rail-Trails in Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail

Posted 10/24/18 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, History Happened Here, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Walkability and Bikeability, Wisconsin

“A national trail is a gateway into nature’s secret beauties,” wrote former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, a key champion of the National Trail System Act of 1968, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail, one of 11 National Scenic Trails made possible by that legislation, is the embodiment of this sentiment, spanning 1,200 miles across the state along the edge of a glacier that left its mark on the landscape some 15,000 years ago.

Mineral Belt Trail | Photo by Laura Stark, courtesy Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Colorado’s Mineral Belt Trail

Posted 10/15/18 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, Colorado, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability

Leadville residents jokingly refer to Denverites as “low landers.” Colorado’s two-mile-high city, nicknamed Cloud City, certainly has a heavenly rail-trail. Forming a nearly 12-mile paved loop around the city, the Mineral Belt Trail offers spectacular views around every bend: the dramatic Rocky Mountains, meadows of sagebrush and passage through the Historic Mining District on the east side of the city.

Dave Schlabowske, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Bike Fed, discusses the value of building a Trails Caucus | Photo by Brian Housh, courtesy RTC

Trail Caucus Kicks Off to Connect Wisconsin as New Projects Build Momentum

Posted 10/10/18 by Willie Karidis in America's Trails, Building Trails, Policy | Tagged with Community Events, Connected Systems, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Demand for Trails, Design Strategies, Health and Active Living, Local Organizing, Maintenance and Volunteers, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, Trail Communities, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Urban Pathways, Walkability and Bikeability

Last week, an active and enthusiastic crowd of public officials, trail advocates, business owners and avid cyclists in Wisconsin gathered at the Wisconsin Bike Fed offices and Velobahn Coffee & Cycle to kick off the state’s newly formed Legislative Trails Caucus.