Healthy Aging

A Grand Slam: 2019 Opening Day for Trails

Posted 04/16/19 by Suzanne Matyas in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Repairs and Trail Safety, Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, BATC, California, Capital Trails Coalition, Circuit Trails, Community Events, Demand for Trails, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, IHTC, Local Organizing, New Jersey, Ohio, OpeningDay, Pennsylvania, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail Use Tips, TrailNation, Walkability and Bikeability, Wisconsin, Young Champions

Photo by Eva Garcia

On Saturday, April 13, people across the country kicked off the spring trail season on Opening Day for Trails (Opening Day). For the last seven years, Opening Day has brought trail newbies and long-timers together to say goodbye to winter and get outside on America’s spectacular trails and trails systems.

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

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

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.

San Antonio Riverwalk | Photo courtesy Getty Images

Where Will You #OptOutside on Nov. 23? (Here Are 8 Trails for the Bucket List!)

Posted 11/09/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Alaska, Best Of, California, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Kentucky, Ohio, OpeningDay, Texas, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail Use Tips, Urban Pathways, Virginia, Walkability and Bikeability, Winter Uses

Here are some of our favorite trails to help you #OptOutside on the day after Turkey Day, Nov. 23—straight from our staff and other trail users around the country. For lots more, check out RTC’s free trail-finder website, TrailLink.com, which maps more than 34,000 miles of multiuse trails!

Prescribe-a-Trail walkers at Valley Forge National Historical Park | Photo by Roy Perry

Prescribe-a-Trail: Walking to Happier and Healthier Lifestyles in Greater Philly

Posted 11/07/18 by Molly Duffy in Health and Wellness, Trail Use, America's Trails | Tagged with Circuit Trails, Community Events, Encouraging Trail Use, Featured Magazine Articles, Health and Active Living, Health Organizations, Healthy Aging, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, TrailNation, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability

Since 2015, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has been connecting hundreds of walkers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to healthier lifestyles through Prescribe-a-Trail (PAT), a program in which Philadelphia-area hospitals and health-care organizations lead outings on local trails along the Circuit Trails network (an RTC TrailNation™ project) to promote exercise, good nutrition and healthy lifestyles.

Opening Day for Trails celebration on the W&OD Trail | Photo by Joe LaCroix, courtesy RTC

A Home Run: 2018 Opening Day for Trails

Posted 05/03/18 by Suzanne Matyas in America's Trails, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, BATC, Capital Trails Coalition, Circuit Trails, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, IHTC, Local Organizing, LowerRioGrande, Maintenance and Volunteers, OpeningDay, RTC in Action, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail Use Tips, Transportation and Health, Urban Pathways, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

This year, thousands of people from coast to coast went outside to celebrate the sixth annual Opening Day for Trails (Opening Day). Although the country was a mix of sunshine and snow, trail users came on foot, wheel, hoof, ski and everything in between to kick off the spring season on their local trails. Thanks to everyone who joined us in showing their love for America’s magnificent trails by celebrating Opening Day. And a big thank you to our magnanimous sponsors at Performance Bicycle, Fuji Bikes, KEEN, Topo Designs and Patagonia for making the day extra special by providing some great prizes.

A cyclist enjoying the view of the Josiah White II canal boat while riding along the D&L Trail. | Photo courtesy Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor

2018 Pennsylvania Sojourn Spotlight: A Journey Along the D&L Trail

Posted 04/23/18 by Elissa Garofalo in America's Trails, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Connected Systems, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, History Happened Here, Maintenance and Volunteers, Pennsylvania, Sojourn Series, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Walkability and Bikeability

The D&L Trail that connects residents and visitors to this amazing story as well as the health, economic, environmental and cultural attributes along its path. The D&L Trail and organization are managed by a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that coordinates the collective efforts of public, private and volunteer stakeholders who celebrate and preserve the pathway.

2017 Opening Day for Trails on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Photo by Amy Kapp

Useful Biking Gear for Trails—Plus A Few MacGyver Tips!

Posted 03/30/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Biking, Encouraging Trail Use, Gear, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, How-to, Mapping and Technology, OpeningDay, Sojourn Series, Trail Etiquette, Trail Use Tips, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

To prepare for Opening Day for Trails, I asked my colleagues at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, some of America’s most experienced trail riders, what equipment they’ve found super useful.

The Banks-Vernonia State Trail is a verdant beauty running through its two namesake towns | Courtesy Oregon State Park

Explore These Six Trails to Get Your Nature Fix

Posted 08/16/17 by Suzanne Matyas in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Best Of, California, Colorado, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, History Happened Here, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Trail Destinations, Vermont, Virginia, Why Use Trails?

Being able to spend time outside to connect with nature is a uniquely special feeling and has many health benefits. It’s also something we believe that everyone should be able to experience. Thankfully, trails enable people of all ages and abilities to do just that. In urban, suburban and rural places all across the country, trails can take us to (and are!) incredible natural spaces.

Five Ways Trails Make Us Healthier (and Happier)

Posted 03/06/17 by Ashley Ashworth in Health and Wellness | Tagged with Best Of, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

If you are like most Americans, you probably exercise less during the winter. It is hard to keep those New Year’s resolutions when it’s snowing outside! Nevertheless, warm weather is just around the corner—and what better way to be active outdoors than on your favorite trail? Regardless of your age, fitness level or ability—trails are for everyone. Here are five ways getting out on the trail can improve your health.

Boundary Bay Park in Tsawwassen, south of Vancouver, British Columbia | Photo courtesy Gord McKenna | CC by 2.0

CDC Says Few Older Adults Get Enough Physical Activity. Trails Can Help.

Posted 09/15/16 by Ashley Ashworth in Health and Wellness, Policy | Tagged with Facts and FIgures, Health and Active Living, Health Organizations, Healthy Aging, Transportation and Health, Why Use Trails?

In its report released today, Physical Activity Among Adults Aged 50 Years and Older, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shared some troubling news: more than one in four older Americans are physically inactivity and only 20 percent meet physical activity guidelines. But here’s the good news: Physical activity can help manage the most prevalent chronic conditions, and trails provide the perfect low-stress environments in which to be active.

The Testermans on the C&O Canal Towpath | Photo by Brian Gerhardstein

Washington Couple Meets Retirement—One Rail-Trail at a Time

Posted 07/20/15 by Elizabeth Striano in Success Stories, Health and Wellness | Tagged with California, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging

After years of running a household and raising their children, and a long career as a veterinarian, Ann and Bill Testerman are starting a new life in retirement together by biking the United States, one rail-trail at a time.

Jeannette and Jack Ralston after achieving their 50-state biking dream | Photo courtesy Jack Ralston

From 5th Grade to 50 States: Couple Achieves 70-Year Biking Dream

Posted 02/09/15 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Biking, Healthy Aging, Success Stories, Tourism

With Valentine’s Day on the near horizon, we thought it was a great time to re-run this super cool story of Jack and Jeannette Ralston, originally printed in the Spring/Summer 2013 issue of Rails to Trails. As you’ll soon find out, the Ralstons have truly shared a bike-trail romance of a lifetime. Enjoy, and Happy Heart Day! Bicycling in every state is an admirable accomplishment for anyone. Meeting that goal at 82 is something really special. In a letter that appeared in the Fall 2012 Rails to Trails, octogenarians Jack and Jeannette Ralston shared the news that they achieved their dream of pedaling in all 50 states, and that they’d used Rails to Trails to help find trails for their “cycling the nation” endeavor.