Heritage and Restoration Page 4

A World War, a Baptist Church, and a Cycling Pastor: the Wonderful Story Behind a Virginia Rail-Trail

Posted 04/30/13 by Kelly Pack in Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Corridors and Railbanking, Heritage and Restoration, Virginia

Often the greatest rail-trail stories are not those about the trail at all but its railroading past and the history of its transformation.This one is a beauty: a railroad track through a small Baptist Church cemetery, a World War II gun supply route, and a cycling pastor. Add to that the involvement of one of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Rail-Trail Champions and you have a rail-trail story for the ages!

Photo © funplaceswashington.com

Reopening Iron Horse Tunnels Would be Worth Millions to Washington

Posted 03/28/13 by Laura Cohen in Trail Use, Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Heritage and Restoration, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Washington

In central Washington, the rail-trail we know as the Iron Horse State Park is one of the truly iconic trail experiences. Part of the broader John Wayne Pioneer Trail system stretching across the state, the Iron Horse's 82 miles pass through one of the most spectacular landscapes in America.

History Happened Here: Historic Railroad Tunnel Trail

Posted 03/26/13 by James Porterfield in America's Trails | Tagged with Heritage and Restoration, Nevada, Trail Destinations

The seven-mile long Historic Railroad Tunnel Trail lets you retrace the path taken by this army of workers and metropolis of machinery. It was once known as the U. S. Government Construction Railroad, and was built in just over six months to connect a Union Pacific Railroad branch in Boulder City, Nevada, with the dam construction site.

Tahoe Trailways | Photo by Mary Ellen Koontz

Truckee River Bike Trail, California

Posted 02/01/13 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with California, Heritage and Restoration, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Wild and Wonderful

Surrounded by the majestic, snowcapped mountains of the Sierra Nevada and renowned for its clear blue water, the country's second deepest lake is surely as stunning today as when Mark Twain saw it more than a century ago. In fact, Lake Tahoe was recently deemed America's best lake by popular vote in a USA Today survey. Although dozens of tributaries flow into the lake, only one flows out, and it is along this waterway that the Truckee River Bike Trail is aligned.

Photo of Iron Horse State Park © Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Washington: Tunnel Reopened and Others in the Works on Iron Horse Rail-Trail

Posted 12/03/12 by Jake Lynch in Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Heritage and Restoration, Maintenance and Volunteers, Private Fundraising

Washington's Iron Horse State Park is one of America's iconic rail-trails. Following the path of the former Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul-Pacific Railroad east out of Seattle, the 82-miles of the Iron Horse pass through the stunning scenery for which the Pacific Northwest is famous, from the base of Rattlesnake Mountain all the way to the Columbia River.

Grant's Trail, Missouri

Posted 11/01/12 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, Heritage and Restoration, Missouri, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Only 10 miles from the famed Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Mo., fittingly lies Grant's Trail. Like the arch, which was built as a monument to westward expansion, the trail follows a former rail line that set out with an ambitious goal to reach all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Even though the tracks never made it that far, the trail has preserved much of the corridor's pioneering history and spirit.

Photo of pioneers in Loup Valley, Custer County, NE © Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Exhibit the Perfect Reason to Plan Your Own Trail Journey

Posted 07/11/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in America's Trails | Tagged with Heritage and Restoration, Maryland, Tourism and Economic Stimulus

The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park, better known as the C&O Canal towpath, is one of the most popular trails in the region, with hikers and riders drawn to its flat gradient, the history of the corridor, and the small, welcoming communities along the trail between D.C. and Cumberland, Md.