Trail Blog by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

There's a New Brand of Biker Gang in Indiana

Posted 11/07/14 by Katie Harris in Trail Use | Tagged with Biking, Health and Active Living, Indiana

Two kids—age three and six. Sixty pounds of camping gear. Food, toys and equipment for an overnight in the woods. Pack up the…bikes? In Bloomington, Ind., Mark Stosberg and his family are doing just that through overnight camping trips done on cargo bikes. With kids in tow, he and his wife hit the road or trail—and off they go to explore the world around them.

Meet Mike Helbing—New Jersey Native, Urban Explorer, Lifetime Hiker

Posted 10/10/14 by Katie Harris in Trail Use | Tagged with Health and Active Living, New Jersey

The description “avid outdoorsman” doesn’t do Mike Helbing justice. Helbing has been leading hiking expeditions for nearly two decades, exploring his home state of New Jersey and the surrounding regions—but these are no ordinary excursions. Every Sunday, a group of intrepid adventurers sets out on a trek of 15 to 20 miles, exploring a different part of New Jersey or the surrounding area.

In Minneapolis, You're Never Too Old to Learn to Ride

Posted 08/05/14 by Katie Harris in Trail Use | Tagged with Equity, Health and Active Living, Minnesota, Products of Good Policy, State and Federal Programs

You’re a grown adult, but you’ve never learned how to ride a bike. Where do you even start? If you’re in Minneapolis, Minn., SPOKES Bike Walk Connect can help.

Get Out On the Trail in Celebration of Great Outdoors America Week!

Posted 06/20/14 by Elissa Southward in Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Community Events, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living

June 23 to 26, 2014, is Great Outdoors America Week in Washington, D.C.! As one of the largest annual conservation and outdoor-focused events in the District, Great Outdoors America Week, or GO Week for short, brings together hundreds of diverse organizations and activists to meet with lawmakers and government reps. and advocate for an outdoor way of life. Throughout the week, many organizations also take the opportunity to hold events that raise awareness of, and celebrate, nature and the outdoors.

Photos © Bryan French, Annual Mayor's Ride in Duluth, MN

Duluth, Minn., Is Striving to Become North America's "Premiere Trail City

Posted 04/23/14 by Katie Harris in Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Champions, Health and Active Living, Minnesota, Trail Communities

Mayor Don Ness, Duluth’s champion for trails, issued a challenge to the Duluth Trail Advisory Group—that “Duluth should be the premier trail city in North America”—and he is taking action to make that vision a reality. In 2011, the final draft of the Trails and Bikeways Master Plan was published, creating a blueprint for the future as the city moves forward.

A relaxed bicycle ride on the beach | Photo courtesy Kim Seng, CC by 2.0

Top 7 Reasons Happy Hearts = Healthy Hearts

Posted 02/14/14 by Elissa Southward in Health and Wellness | Tagged with Health and Active Living, Why Use Trails?

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, we'd like to take the opportunity to focus on emotional heart health, which recently has been proven and recognized as having a profound impact on physical heart health in a number of different ways…for example, did you know…?

Triumph on the Trails (Broken Hearts Repaired)

Posted 02/12/14 by Rick and Marcia Laus in Trail Use | Tagged with Health and Active Living, Why Use Trails?

As we lead up to Valentine’s Day in our American Heart Month series, RTC is pleased to share this story by guest contributor Marcia Laus of how—after losing a son to epilepsy and battling severe health problems—she (55) and her husband Rick (58) are rebuilding their lives and repairing their hearts on America’s trails.

Sundial Bridge | Photo by Beth Young, CC by 2.0

The Road to a Thousand Wonders

Posted 09/12/13 by Bryan Goebel in Trail Use, America's Trails | Tagged with California, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Featured Magazine Articles, Health and Active Living

The astonishing Sundial Bridge peeks out from a tall canopy of cottonwood trees as I approach Redding, Calif., on Highway 44. It looks like an enormous white harp or an egret. Designed by Spanish architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava, the eight-year-old bridge radiates over the lush green landscape, linking both sides of the Upper Sacramento River where it makes a wide turn at Turtle Bay.

New Thanksgiving Traditions Form Along America's Rail-Trails

Posted 11/26/12 by Jake Lynch in Trail Use | Tagged with Community Events, Connecticut, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living

We are all familiar with the traditions of the Thanksgiving holiday - the food, football on TV, catching up with friends, and the leftovers, of course. But it is great to see energetic Americans starting new traditions, creating their own Thanksgiving rituals that add to the spirit of togetherness that the holiday is all about.

Hit Your Local Rail-Trail for a Thanksgiving Fun Run

Posted 11/20/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, Community Events, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living

Thanksgiving fun runs are a great way to spend time with family and friends outdoors, and many are in support of noteworthy charities and trail organizations.

In D.C., Met Branch Community All About a Good Time

Posted 11/14/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Trail Use | Tagged with Community Events, District Of Columbia, Health and Active Living, Local Organizing, Urban Pathways

It was wonderful to see our efforts on the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT) in Washington D.C. over the past five years bloom into an energetic and supportive trail community.

More Rail-Trail Miles a Key to Growth in Terre Haute, Ind.

Posted 08/06/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Health and Active Living, Indiana, Walkability and Bikeability

This weekend, the local newspaper for Terre Haute, Indiana, ran a terrific article examining the popularity of existing rail-trails and the potential to develop more underused rail corridors into public walking and biking pathways to solve a number of pressing transportation and connectivity issues.

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