TrailBlog

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

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

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.

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Photo courtesy Prairie Corridor Foundation

Developing Trail in Lincoln Celebrates Nebraska’s Tallgrass Prairie Legacy

Posted 02/13/19 by Matthew Horne in Policy | Tagged with Connected Systems, Ecology and Environment, Heritage and Restoration, Nebraska, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, TrailsTransform, Walkability and Bikeability

Welcome to Nebraska’s tallgrass prairie, a rapidly disappearing ecosystem that Nebraskans are racing to preserve—and they hope to do just that with a new corridor and trail: the Prairie Corridor on Haines Branch.

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.

With a population of 1.5 million in Manhattan alone, New York has plenty of people willing to brave a cold and gusty winter day on the Hudson River Valley Greenway. | Photo by Scott Stark

State of the States: Here’s What’s on the Policy Horizon in 2019

Posted 02/07/19 by Andrew Dupuy, Brian K. Housh in Policy | Tagged with California, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Funding, IHTC, Indiana, Local Organizing, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Route of the Badger, State and Federal Programs, Texas, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Wisconsin

Now, as 2019 gets underway, RTC’s state policy team has its antenna up for new opportunities to fund trails at the state level—and continue to build momentum for trail building nationwide. Below is a summary on the state of the states for trails, walking and biking.

Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail in Washington | Photo by TrailLink user biggerdawg

A View From … The Great American Rail-Trail

Posted 01/23/19 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Connected Systems, District Of Columbia, Featured Magazine Articles, Great American Rail-Trail, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, TrailNation, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming

Imagine what’s possible with a trail that connects the country. Imagine ... pedaling across the entire country on a safe, seamless and scenic pathway—or walking a local trail that connects along historic routes. That vision will become a reality thanks to the Great American Rail-Trail, a signature project of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) and the organization’s most ambitious TrailNation™ project yet.

Tony Knowles Coastal Trail | Photo by Jody O. Photos, courtesy Visit Anchorage

Alaska’s Tony Knowles Coastal Trail

Posted 01/15/19 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Alaska, Best Of, Biking, Demand for Trails, Encouraging Trail Use, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability, Wild and Wonderful, Winter Uses

With views of the rugged Chugach Mountains and tidal inlets, Alaska’s Tony Knowles Coastal Trail offers a breathtaking experience unlike any other rail-trail in the country. Learn more in our Trail of the Month feature.

Notice: Upcoming Railroad Abandonment in Fremont County, Idaho

Posted 12/31/18 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails | Tagged with Abandonment Notices, Corridors and Railbanking, Idaho

On or about Dec. 21, 2018, Eastern Idaho Railroad L.L.C. filed for the abandonment of 5 miles of track between Parker and Egin, Fremont County, Idaho. We are providing this information because it presents an opportunity to develop a real regional asset: a multi-use trail that can accommodate hikers, bikers, equestrians and other appropriate uses.

Keith on the Route of the Badger in Wisconsin | Photo by Ben Carter, courtesy RTC

Embracing Change

Posted 12/21/18 by Keith Laughlin in America's Trails | Tagged with History Happened Here, RTC in Action

As I reflect on my tenure and how our work has evolved since that day in 2001, I’m proud of RTC’s position at the forefront of the active transportation movement. We have grown significantly in the past two decades, seizing new opportunities to first build rail-trails and now to maximize those trails by connecting them with each other. Today, we have powerful initiatives underway designed to catalyze the development of trail networks nationwide.

A ride at Lake Artemesia with the Metro Washington Association for Blind Athletes | Photo courtesy MWABA

Metro Washington Association of Blind Athletes Makes Tandem Connections on DC Trails

Posted 12/20/18 by Scott Stark in Trail Use, Success Stories | Tagged with Capital Trails Coalition, District Of Columbia, Health and Active Living, People with Disabilities

“The speed, the freedom, the sense of connection—it’s what made me fall in love with biking,” explained Karla Gilbride. Discussing regular after-work trips down Washington, D.C.’s Capital Crescent Trail on a tandem bike, she describes the hustle and bustle of commuters in Bethesda, the smell of the Potomac River, the feel of the wind whipping past, the cool breezes found near the water’s edge and the sounds of early nightlife in the hip Georgetown neighborhood. What she doesn’t go into are the sights along the trail. Blind since birth, Gilbride, the founder of MWABA, the Metro Washington Association of Bline Athletes, connects with her rides in different ways.

Pat Jones (left) on Katy Trail State Park in Missouri | Photo courtesy Missouri Department of Natural Resources/Twitter

Missouri Trail Patron and Conservationist Pat Jones Passes Away at 93

Posted 12/19/18 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Champions, Missouri, Rail-Trail Champion, Rural Communities

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy was deeply saddened to learn that Hilda P. Jones—known to family members, friends and colleagues as “Pat,” passed away on Dec. 17 at her home in Williamsburg, Missouri. Pat and her husband the late Edward Jones, who died in 1990, are known for their important contributions to the conservation movement, including supporting the creation of two epic rail-trails in Missouri: the 240-mile Katy Trail State Park and the developing 144-mile Rock Island Trail.

A highlight of the future Rock Island Trail is the bridge over the Gasconade River near Freeburg, which spans 1,776 feet. | Photo courtesy Missouri Rock Island Trail Inc.

The Rock Island Trail Is a 144-Mile Would Be Game-Changer for Missouri

Posted 12/17/18 by Cindy Barks in Taking Action, Building Trails | Tagged with Corridors and Railbanking, Missouri, Rock Island, RTC in Action, Tourism and Economic Development, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations

All along a 144-mile stretch of Missouri’s old Rock Island Line, rural communities formerly known as railroad towns have been looking forward to a new possibility: a multiuse trail that would revitalize the long-unused train tracks.

Ribbon cutting ceremony for the launch of phase 1 of the Wasson Way rail-trail in Cincinnati, Ohio | Photo courtesy City of Cincinnati

Meet America's New Rail-Trails of 2018

Posted 12/17/18 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Best Of, California, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington

This year was an exciting one for the rail-trail movement; as 2018 comes to a close, nearly 2,100 rail-trails are now open across the country. These trails add value in so many ways—increasing our mobility, improving our health, spurring economic development, protecting our environment and creating powerful connections within and between communities. Please join us in welcoming some of these newest arrivals!