Trail Use

#OptOutside 2019: The Perfect Photo Opp

Posted 12/04/19 by Suzanne Matyas in Trail Use | Tagged with Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living

California's El Dorado Trail | Photo by Jackie Neau

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) is pleased to join our friends at REI each year in encouraging people to #OptOutside on Black Friday and spend more time outdoors every day. Because we know there’s no better way to spend time outdoors than on the trail, we invited you to join us outside on Friday, Nov. 29, on one of your favorites and share the moment! Thank you to the millions who opted outside—and to all of you who helped inspire them by sharing your trail outings on social media.

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New Zealand's Otago Central Rail Trail | Photo courtesy Otago Central Rail Trail Charitable Trust

Seven Bucket List Rail-Trail Destinations Around the World

Posted 09/27/19 by Laura Stark in Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Best Of, Biking, Tourism , Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trails of the World, Why Use Trails?, Wild and Wonderful

Thousands more miles of rail-trails are available all across the globe. For World Tourism Day, we thought we’d take a look a few bucket list international rail-trail destinations.

Ian Mackay, founder of Ian's Ride (second from left), at the foot of Mount Rainier with friends Jesse Collens, Kenny Salvini and Todd Stabelfeldt | Photo by Teena Woodward

A Serious Injury Changed Cyclist Ian Mackay’s Life. Trails Helped Him Rebuild It.

Posted 08/27/19 by Scott Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Champions, Design Strategies, Featured Magazine Articles, Great American Rail-Trail, People with Disabilities, Trail Use Tips, Walkability and Bikeability, Washington, Why Use Trails?

A motorized wheelchair powered by sip-and-puff inputs coupled with the ever-improving voice recognition capabilities of a smartphone offered Mackay a degree of independence, and allowed him to get outside without a caregiver at his side at all times. The Olympic Discovery Trail, a rail-trail that runs near his home, called to him. “That trail is where I found my solace,” Mackay said. “I was a field biologist before. I spent a ton of time outside.” Now, he said, “I could start exploring the Pacific Northwest on my own and appreciate those loves I had before I was injured.”

Libby Rose on e-bike | Photo courtesy Wandering Rose Travels

E-Bikes Got This Baby Boomer Back on the Trail After Asthma

Posted 05/22/19 by Libby and Martin Rose in Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Biking, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, Mapping and Technology, Motorized Use, Trail Use Tips, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

Riding an e-bike for the first time was exhilarating. I met my first electric bicycle in California wine country, home to hills that challenged my lungs. A one-day rental there led to a weeklong adventure in Hawaii, followed by my first of two e-bike purchases three years ago. Since then, I’ve logged more than 1,000 road and trail miles, and for me, it’s been a win-win. No more sitting on the side of the road waiting to be picked up because I could go no farther, and no fear of ending up in the hospital due to an asthma attack.

Cedar Valley Nature Trail | Photo by Liz Zabel, courtesy GO Cedar Rapids

Iowa’s Cedar Valley Nature Trail

Posted 05/14/19 by Cory Matteson in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Best Of, Ecology and Environment, Great American Rail-Trail, Health and Active Living, History Happened Here, Iowa, Local Organizing, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability, Wild and Wonderful

Depending on who you ask, the Cedar Valley Nature Trail is either 52 miles long (the original length) or about 67 miles thanks to extension projects in Linn County. The trail’s website includes maps for both iterations. Both versions begin in Evansdale to the north and run south through a collection of small towns (Gilbertville, La Porte City, Brandon, Urbana, Center Point, Robins and Hiawatha) before reaching Cedar Rapids and, as the longer tally accounts for, now Ely.

Pony Express station at the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center | Photo courtesy Bureau of Land Management | CC by 2.0

16 Historic Highlights Along the Route of the Great American Rail-Trail

Posted 05/08/19 by Cory Matteson, Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, Connected Systems, Featured Magazine Articles, Great American Rail-Trail, History Happened Here, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tourism and Economic Development, Trail Destinations, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming

Unique in makeup and geography, each trail that’s hosting the 3,700-miles-plus preferred route of the Great American Rail-Trail has many stories to tell—some as old as, or far older than, our country itself. Both well known and lesser known, the histories found along the route demonstrate why the “Great American” is a true national treasure.

Photo by Eva Garcia

A Grand Slam: 2019 Opening Day for Trails

Posted 04/16/19 by Suzanne Matyas in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Repairs and Trail Safety, Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, BATC, California, Capital Trails Coalition, Circuit Trails, Community Events, Demand for Trails, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, IHTC, Local Organizing, New Jersey, Ohio, OpeningDay, Pennsylvania, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail Use Tips, TrailNation, Walkability and Bikeability, Wisconsin, Young Champions

On Saturday, April 13, people across the country kicked off the spring trail season on Opening Day for Trails (Opening Day). For the last seven years, Opening Day has brought trail newbies and long-timers together to say goodbye to winter and get outside on America’s spectacular trails and trails systems.

Warren County Bikeway | Photo courtesy Eric Pfau

New York’s Warren County Bikeway

Posted 04/16/19 by Robert Annis in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, Connected Systems, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, New York, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, TrailsTransform, Walkability and Bikeability

The Warren County Bikeway runs 10 miles between Glens Falls and Lake George, about an hour’s drive north of Albany. Riders pedal over rolling hills, past historic sites and picturesque New England villages, and through lush forests filled with pine and cedar trees. The trail is paved, but there’s a 1.5-mile section that takes riders off the path and along lightly traveled suburban streets and the Glens Falls Country Club.

Fun run 5k on W&OD Trail in Arlington, VA | Photo courtesy Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Here Are 13 Ways to Celebrate Opening Day for Trails on April 13

Posted 02/14/19 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Best Of, Community Events, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, OpeningDay, Trail Destinations, Walkability and Bikeability

This year’s Opening Day for Trails is going to be one of the best yet, as people across the country officially kick off spring by hitting their favorite pathways (or new ones!). Below are just 13 ways you can celebrate Opening Day in your own neighborhood and beyond.

Photo by Jeff London

Pennsylvania’s Mahoning Shadow Trail

Posted 02/12/19 by Danielle Taylor in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, Community Events, Connected Systems, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Demand for Trails, Funding, Health and Active Living, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Local Organizing, Maintenance and Volunteers, Pennsylvania, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability

Learn how the legendary groundhog Punxsutawney Phil helped create the Pennsylvania's Mahoning Shadow Trail in RTC's trail of the month feature.