Demand for Trails

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

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

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.

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Baltimore, Maryland | Photo by Side A Photography

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

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.

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.

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.

2018 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champions Award ceremony | Photo by Hung Tran

Central Author of Historic Trail Legislation Named 2018 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champion

Posted 09/27/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Policy, Taking Action, Success Stories, Building Trails | Tagged with Champions, Demand for Trails, Federal, History Happened Here, Rail-Trail Champion

One of the most important moments in the history of the rail-trail movement happened behind the scenes, with little fanfare or notice, when National Park Service (NPS) staffer Peter Raynor drafted an invaluable piece of legislation in just a few words.

The Chief Ladiga Trail in Alabama travels along and over Terrapin Creek. | Photo by Tom Dulaney

The State of Funding for Trails, Walking and Biking: A Mixed Bag

Posted 09/13/18 by Leeann Sinpatanasakul in Policy, America's Trails | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Facts and FIgures, Federal, Funding

Since the program’s inception in 1991, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has been monitoring how these funds have been invested and the projects that have been built. Each year, the results are published in RTC’s Transportation Alternatives Spending Report. The most recent report was just released, summarizing how states used Transportation Alternatives funding in 2017.

Along the newly opened Three Creeks Trail in San Jose, California, a 30-foot water tower serves as an iconic reminder of the city's cannery days. | Photo by Yves Zsutty, courtesy City of San Jose

San Jose’s Three Creeks Trail: Recalling the Valley of Heart’s Delight

Posted 09/11/18 by Yves Zsutty in America's Trails | Tagged with BATC, California, Demand for Trails, Health and Active Living, History Happened Here, Local Organizing, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, TrailNation, Walkability and Bikeability

San Jose’s newly opened 0.8-mile stretch of the Three Creeks Trail is the first phase of a planned trail system that will connect three other trail systems across the city. The urban trail also delivers the 60th mile of the growing San Jose Trail Network, one of the largest urban trail networks in the nation.

Weekly summer Landline ride at the newly rebuilt trail and boardwalk around the Needham Reservoir in Massachusetts | Photo by David Loutzenheiser

1,400-Mile LandLine Plan Is Building Active Transportation Momentum in Boston

Posted 08/29/18 by Alan Ibarra in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Community Events, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Design Strategies, Health and Active Living, Local Organizing, Massachusetts, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Walkability and Bikeability

The Boston area is expected to undergo some noteworthy change in the near future thanks to the LandLine Vision Plan—a newly proposed plan by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) that aims to complete a 1,400-mile connected network of regional trails and greenways and spur new opportunities for active transportation and recreation across communities.

Burke-Gilman Trail | Photo by Barbara Richey

Nation’s Mayors Support a New Vision for Connected Walking and Bicycling Routes

Posted 07/11/18 by Patrick Wojahn in America's Trails, Policy | Tagged with Capital Trails Coalition, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Mapping and Technology, Mode Shift, Ohio, Walkability and Bikeability

Just last month, the nation’s mayors met in Boston for the Annual Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors. Each year, more than 30,000 mayors from all around the country converge to help set a unified policy agenda for a diverse range of issues—including health, education, economic development and, not least in our minds, transportation and infrastructure.