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A View From ... The Industrial Heartland Trails Network

Posted 09/13/16 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, Featured Magazine Articles, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Trail Destinations, West Virginia

Ohio and Erie Canalway Towpath Trail under the I-80 overpass in Summit County, Ohio | Photo by Bob Callebert

The Industrial Heartland Trails system is a collection of nearly three dozen pathways featuring scenic wilderness, dramatic railroad tunnels and trestles, welcoming trail towns and historical sites from the birthplace of America’s Industrial Revolution. The system is ambitious and breathtaking in scope: 1,450 miles of trail spiraling out across four states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and New York. Here is a sampling of the beauty to be found within the network.

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Inaugural September 11th National Memorial Trail Alliance ride, Liberty State Park, Sept. 10, 2015 | Photo by Gail Zavian

Trail of Tributes: September 11 Memorial Trail Honors America's Fallen Heroes

Posted 09/08/16 by Maureen Hannan in Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Featured Magazine Articles, Trail Destinations

Fifteen years after the 9/11 tragedy, the September 11th National Memorial Trail provides a reflective journey of pilgrimage and remembrance, nation-building and resilience in America. Read about the route, which links three national memorials honoring America's fallen heroes and first responders.

RTC Youth Sojourn participants cross the Ben Franklin Bridge between Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey, on the Circuit Trails network. | Photo by Blake Rubin

23 Youth Tackle 170-Mile Watershed Sojourn in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

Posted 09/01/16 by Anya Saretzky in Health and Wellness, Success Stories | Tagged with Circuit Trails, Community Events, Connected Systems, Ecology and Environment, Encouraging Trail Use, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Schools and Young People, Young Champions

As a culmination of our summer youth programming in the Greater Philadelphia Area, RTC brought 23 young people together this August for our second annual Youth Sojourn—a five-day bike ride over 170 miles of Circuit Trails in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Led by RTC Youth Engagement Coordinator Jolie Chylack and several Youth Leaders, the sojourn capped off a great summer of watershed health education programming.

The Ohio and Erie Canalway Towpath Trail in Cleveland, Ohio | Photo courtesy Canalway Partners

Enter the TIGER: $7.95 million Grant for Cleveland Metroparks Bodes Well for US Trails

Posted 08/10/16 by Eric Oberg in Policy, Building Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, Federal, Funding, Ohio, Products of Good Policy, RTC in Action, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability

Recently, Cleveland Metroparks was awarded a $7.95 million TIGER Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to help complete a $16.45 million regional trail network through the city and traversing parts of Northeast Ohio. Included among a record-setting eight bike and pedestrian TIGER grants awarded in 2016 totaling $94 million-plus, the project, “Reconnecting Cleveland,” is part of a new and groundbreaking trend: Local communities are recognizing that trails are critical to healthy, balanced transportation systems.

Martin Olav Sabo Bridge over Hiawatha Avenue along the Midtown Greenway in Minnesota | Photo courtesy Tony Webster | CC by 2.0

10 More Game-Changing Rail-Trails

Posted 06/10/16 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Best Of, Celebrating 30 Years, Connected Systems, Heritage and Restoration, Tourism and Economic Development, Transportation and Health

Earlier in 2016, we posted "Ten Trails That Helped Build the Movement" in honor of RTC’s 30th anniversary in 2016. But of course, with almost 2,000 completed rail-trails across the country, we just scratched the surface. In 1986, there were only 250 miles of rail-trails. Three decades later—thanks to a lot of passionate people—rail-trails have transformed America. Here are 10 more game-changing rail-trails (in no particular order) that have had an impact, as destinations, recreation magnets, economic drivers or transportation connectors, in the U.S.

On the Jones Falls Trail in Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, Maryland | Photo by Side A Photography

112 Years Later: Baltimore’s Trail Network Vision Is Coming of Age

Posted 05/10/16 by Katie Harris, Amy Kapp in Building Trails | Tagged with Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, Celebrating 30 Years, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Ecology and Environment, Maryland, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Walkability and Bikeability

Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. painted a visionary picture for Baltimore in his comprehensive 1904 Report Upon the Development of Public Grounds for Greater Baltimore. His blueprints for Baltimore’s park system, which focused attention on the three stream valleys, are a shining example of effective urban planning. More than a century later, these stream valleys remain among the city’s greatest assets—and now, they are pieces of a new vision for a connected and more equitable Baltimore.

Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk, part of the 750-mile Circuit Trails network | Photo by Thom Carroll

The Circuit Trails: 750-Mile Network Has Sparked a Greater Philly Transformation

Posted 04/12/16 by Heather Mistretta in Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Celebrating 30 Years, Circuit Trails, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Trail Destinations

For the past five years, a web of approximately 30 multi-use pathways known as the Circuit Trails has been growing throughout the Greater Philadelphia area, with long-term plans to stretch 750 miles across nine counties. Currently at 300 miles, the Circuit Trails is like no other system in the country—connecting urban, suburban and rural communities in a 2.5-million-acre area. By the time it is complete, which is expected to be in 2040, more than 50 percent of the region’s population will live within a mile of the Circuit Trails. Additionally, the system will connect to the East Coast Greenway, enveloping a 3,000-mile off-road route that spans as far north as Calais, Maine, and as far south as Key West, Florida.

Fort Duquesne Bridge and Walkway along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (the hub for the developing 1,450-mile Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition vision). | Photo courtesy Wally Gobetz | CC by 2.0

1,450-Mile Developing Trail Network to Revitalize America’s Industrial Heartland

Posted 03/29/16 by Jake Lynch in Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Celebrating 30 Years, Connected Systems, IHTC, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tourism and Economic Development, Trail Destinations, Walkability and Bikeability, West Virginia

The Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition envisions a 1,450-mile system of off-road trails that will connect many of the major centers of America’s Rust Belt and industrial Appalachia. The trail network will span 48 counties across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and New York. Here's more about this ambitious project.

Glacial Drumlin State Trail in Wisconsin | Photo courtesy Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin | CC by 2.0

Meet the Badger: 500-Mile Trail Network Takes Hold in Southeast Wisconsin

Posted 03/03/16 by Amy Kapp in Building Trails | Tagged with Celebrating 30 Years, Connected Systems, Route of the Badger, Tourism and Economic Development, Trail Destinations, Wisconsin

In October 2014, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) formally launched an initiative in Southeast Wisconsin that could have an enormous transformative effect on the region and America’s rail-trail future. The goal of the project, appropriately dubbed the Route of the Badger, is to connect completed trails in seven counties—Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha—into a world-class destination trail system.

Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk, the Circuit Trails, Philadelphia | Photo courtesy Montgomery County Planning Commission

10 Reasons the Circuit Trails Are Remarkable

Posted 02/11/16 by Katie Harris in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Celebrating 30 Years, Circuit Trails, Connected Systems, Disparities and Underserved Communities, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Walkability and Bikeability

The Philadelphia region is home to one of the country’s largest trail networks, a visionary model that, when complete, will incorporate 750 miles of connected trails leading through urban landscapes and rural countryside. The system is called the Circuit Trails, and the network will be accessible to all residents and visitors, regardless of age, income or experience level.

San Francisco Bay Trail | Photo courtesy Tony Webster | CC by 2.0

Uniting the Bay: Trails Are Creating Healthy Communities in California

Posted 02/04/16 by Elizabeth Striano in Policy, Building Trails | Tagged with BATC, California, Celebrating 30 Years, Connected Systems, Cross-Sector Collaboration

In 2014, RTC launched the Bay Area Trails Collaborative (BATC) to create a 1,000-mile interconnected system of trails and greenways in the San Francisco Bay Area. Currently comprising more than 40 nonprofits, public agencies and private entities—the diverse group is speaking in a unified voice to regional and state planning authorities on behalf of trails.

Ocean City, New Jersey | Photo courtesy Betty Tsang | CC by 2.0

A Look Ahead in the Northeast: Transforming a South Jersey Destination

Posted 01/14/16 by Liz Sewell in Building Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, New Jersey, RTC in Action, Tourism

As RTC celebrates its 30th year in 2016, we’re taking time to reflect on what’s been accomplished in the trail world and take a future-forward look at the work being done by our teams across the country. Learn what’s in store for RTC’s work in South Jersey, which includes helping to close gaps in two trails systems with the potential to impact tourism in the region and make new, safe connections for walkers and bikers.