Featured Magazine Articles

Great Allegheny Passage just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Photo by Milo Bateman

How the Great Allegheny Passage Transformed a Region

Posted 05/12/20 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Connected Systems, Featured Magazine Articles, Great American Rail-Trail, Pennsylvania, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail Use Tips

The story of the GAP is one of vision, tenacity and transformation. But at the heart of it all, it is the story of what’s possible when people come together with a great idea.

Mineral Belt Trail | Photo by Scott Stark

Four Rail-Trails That Are Part of Transformative Environmental Clean-up Projects

Posted 04/21/20 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Colorado, Ecology and Environment, Featured Magazine Articles, Heritage and Restoration, IHTC, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, TrailNation, West Virginia

In honor of Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary this year, Rails to Trails magazine is highlighting four rail-trails that have had a transformative Cinderella story, going from industrial dumping grounds to beloved community assets.

Andrea Ferster | Photo by Eli Griffen

Rail-Trail Cases That Have Shaped the Movement

Posted 02/20/20 by Amy Kapp in Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Corridors and Railbanking, Featured Magazine Articles, Legal Issues, RTC in Action

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the National Trails System Act (1968), Rails to Trails magazine sat down with Ferster to talk about some of the cases that have shaped the movement—as well as the monumental importance of railbanking, which—born from the National Trails System Act in 1983—has helped facilitate the creation of thousands of miles of rail-trails to date.

The inaugural Great Lake-to-Lake Trail ride along Kal-Haven Trail Sesquicentennial State Park | Photo by Jeff Green, TrailLink user jeffinbville

A View From … Michigan’s Great Lake-to-Lake Trail

Posted 12/20/19 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Connected Systems, Featured Magazine Articles, Michigan, Trail Destinations

It’s no secret that Michigan is a great trail state, hosting more than 2,400 miles of rail-trails, and exciting developing trail network projects like the Great Lake-to-Lake Trails, which is building momentum.

North Bend Trail into Cairo, West Virginia | Photo by Mike Tewkesbury

West Virginia and Pennsylvania's Parkersburg to Pittsburgh Corridor

Posted 12/05/19 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Featured Magazine Articles, Pennsylvania, West Virginia

The P2P: It’s a small acronym that holds a world of promise. Extending from Parkersburg to Pittsburgh (P2P), the developing 238.5-mile route connecting northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania by trail would be a game changer for the dozens of small, rural Appalachian towns that have seen the Cinderella story of the highly successful Great Allegheny Passage so close at hand.

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.”

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy President Ryan Chao | Photo by Anthony Le, courtesy RTC

Rails-to-Trails' President Ryan Chao on Connecting America by Trail

Posted 07/15/19 by Ryan Chao in Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, Featured Magazine Articles, Great American Rail-Trail, Why Use Trails?

Thank you for welcoming me into your community. I’m delighted to join Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) as its third president and to partner with you in advancing our vital mission. While this joyous work is filled with personal rewards, I joined RTC because I know how well trails can connect each of us to the things we value most: our families, our friends and neighbors, our communities and our cultural heritage.

When complete, the Great American Rail-Trail will span more than 3,700 miles across 12 states and the District of Columbia. | Illustration by Anderson Design Group

From Dream to National Treasure: The Great American Rail-Trail

Posted 05/08/19 by Laura Stark, Brandi Horton in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Featured Magazine Articles, Great American Rail-Trail, Tourism and Economic Development, Trail Destinations, TrailNation

When complete, the Great American Rail-Trail will span more than 3,700 miles across 12 states and the District of Columbia—connecting Washington, D.C., and Washington State, and highlighting some of America’s most pristine geography, iconic landmarks and renowned cultural treasures in hundreds of communities along the route.

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.

The developing Silver Bow Creek Greenway in Montana is a key player in the tail end of a decades-long environmental restoration effort in the Butte Area. | Courtesy Silver Bow Creek Greenway

From Toxic Site to Thriving Rail-Trail: Montana's Silver Bow Creek Greenway

Posted 04/20/19 by Scott Stark in Building Trails, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Design Strategies, Ecology and Environment, Featured Magazine Articles, Montana, Rural Communities

By the early 20th century, Butte, Montana, was already being called the richest hill on Earth, an acknowledgement of the nearly inconceivable amounts of ore being mined there. In 1910 alone, 284 million pounds of copper ore were extracted from the Butte area. “Butte electrified America,” said Dori Skrukrud, the community development coordinator for the City-County of Butte-Silver Bow. “Butte provided the metals to win world wars. But it paid a significant price.”