Trail Blog by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Volunteers participate in a sacred corn planting in 2019, sowing the seeds by hand. | Photo by Alex Matzke, courtesy Bold Nebraska

The Legacy of White Buffalo Girl, and the Resiliency of a People

Posted 06/04/21 by Scott Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Featured Magazine Articles, Great American Rail-Trail, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Local Organizing, Nebraska

In Laurel Hill Cemetery just outside the town of Neligh, Nebraska, stands a gravestone. The gravesite represents grief, suffering and a historic injustice. This final resting place marked the end of a short life but the beginning of a generations-long story. Here lies White Buffalo Girl.

Lanie Fleischer Chester Creek Trail | Courtesy Erin Kirkland

Alaska’s Lanie Fleischer Chester Creek Trail

Posted 05/13/21 by Christina Sturdivant Sani in America's Trails | Tagged with Alaska, Best Of, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Local Organizing, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability, Wild and Wonderful, Winter Uses

The Lanie Fleischer Chester Creek Trail is a beautiful oasis in the middle of Anchorage, Alaska. Running east to west from Goose Lake Park to Westchester Lagoon, the greenbelt boasts scenic views of the Chugach Mountains. “You would never know you’re going through an industrial area,” said Beth Nordlund, the executive director of the Anchorage Park Foundation.

Screenshot of Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails' groundbreaking of a community mural project along Roberts Pass and Prairie Grass Trail

Celebrate Trails Day 2021: Big Celebration—Nationwide Impact

Posted 05/12/21 by Suzanne Matyas in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with CelebrateTrailsDay, Local Organizing, Trail Use Tips, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

On April 24, 2021, we invited people and partners across the country to join us outside for Celebrate Trails Day. Thousands of people banded together to celebrate and show appreciation for these essential spaces by spending more than 139,000 minutes being physically active outside!

Gurney Street Trail pilot project along the planned Richmond Industrial Trail | Photo by Anya Saretzky, courtesy RTC

Richmond Industrial Trail Will Transform Neighborhoods and Lives in North Philadelphia

Posted 04/19/21 by Paola Tejada Lalinde in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Art, Circuit Trails, Local Organizing, Maintenance and Volunteers, Pennsylvania, TrailNation

A vision for a 1.9-mile walking and biking greenway is taking shape along the Richmond Industrial Track—a railroad corridor in North Philadelphia that has seen decline in recent decades, but is undergoing renewal. The developing multiuse path—aptly named the Richmond Industrial Trail—is a first-of-its-kind project in the area that will connect five communities and serve more than 40,000 residents living within a half-mile of the corridor.

Proyecto piloto de Gurney Street Trail a lo largo del planificado Richmond Industrial Trail | Foto de Anya Saretzky, cortesía de RTC

Richmond Industrial Trail transformará vecindarios y vidas en el norte de Filadelfia

Posted 04/19/21 by Paola Tejada Lalinde in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Art, Circuit Trails, Local Organizing, Maintenance and Volunteers

La visión de una vía verde de 1,9 millas para caminar y andar en bicicleta está tomando forma a lo largo de Richmond Industrial Track, un corredor ferroviario en el norte de Filadelfia que ha experimentado un declive en las últimas décadas, pero está siendo renovado. El sendero multiusos en desarrollo, acertadamente llamado Richmond Industrial Trail, es un proyecto único en su tipo en el área que conectará cinco comunidades, incluidas Kensington, East Kensington, Fairhill, Olde Richmond y Port Richmond, y servirá a más de 40 000 residentes que viven a media milla del corredor. Los esfuerzos centrados en la comunidad para construir el sendero mejorarán la economía local y beneficiarán la salud y la seguridad públicas, al tiempo que conectarán a los residentes con espacios verdes, opciones de transporte público, instituciones ancla, arterias principales del sendero y múltiples proyectos emergentes de desarrollo comunitario.

Recently completed Cohas section of the Londonderry Rail Trail | Courtesy Londonderry Trailways

New Hampshire’s Londonderry Rail Trail

Posted 04/06/20 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Connected Systems, Federal, Funding, Local Organizing, Maintenance and Volunteers, New Hampshire, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

About a 45-mile drive northwest of Boston, the Londonderry Rail Trail in the quaint southern New Hampshire town of Londonderry offers locals a slice of tranquility in an otherwise upside-down world with a 4.5-mile jaunt through verdant forests and wildlife-rich wetlands and along scenic ponds.

Family riding along the Cross Alameda Trail through Jean Sweeney Park | Photo by Laura Cohen and Rolf Bell

City of Alameda Celebrates Opening of Newest Trail Connection

Posted 03/04/20 by Ben Kaufman, Mary Elise Conzelmann in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with BATC, California, Community Events, Demand for Trails, Local Organizing, TrailNation

On Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, hundreds of people came out to celebrate the opening of a new segment of the Cross Alameda Trail (CAT), a developing 4-mile rail-trail across the island city of Alameda just south of Oakland in California’s Bay Area. The newly minted 0.9-mile section of trail—which stretches east from Main Street to Constitution Way along Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway and Atlantic Avenue—is a vital new walking and biking connection for Alameda and the region. This nearly mile-long trail segment connects to an existing 0.6-mile segment of the CAT to form 1.5 miles of continuous rail-trail between Alameda Point and the new 25-acre Jean Sweeney Open Space Park.

Nashua Rail River Trail | Photo by Milo Bateman

Massachusetts and New Hampshire’s Nashua River Rail Trail

Posted 11/08/19 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Local Organizing, Maintenance and Volunteers, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

New England in autumn is nature’s spectator sport, and a special place to view its riotous colors is the Nashua River Rail Trail, spanning just over 12 miles in Massachusetts and spilling into New Hampshire.

Photo courtesy Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Shining a Light on the Transformative Impact of Trails in the Quad Cities

Posted 09/12/19 by Brandi Horton in Building Trails, Policy, America's Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Facts and FIgures, Great American Rail-Trail, Illinois, Iowa, Local Organizing, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, TrailNation, TrailsTransform

The Riverfront and Great River trails, both host trails of the Great American and “spines” of a regional trail system between the states. Yet, while those trails have been so important to the region’s riverfront revitalization strategy, there is much more benefit that could be realized if two key gaps are filled, one in the Riverfront Trail in Davenport, Iowa, and the “Critical Gap Connector” between the Great River Trail and the Hennepin Canal Parkway in Illinois.

The Empire State Trail in New York City | Photo by Scott Stark

Rail-Trail State Policy 2019: Here’s What’s Happening Right now

Posted 08/29/19 by Andrew Dupuy, Brian K. Housh in Policy | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Funding, Local Organizing, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Texas, TrailNation

This year, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s state policy arm focused on strategies aimed at building financial support for trails, walking and bicycling over the long term, including the creation of advocacy infrastructure that should pay dividends for active transportation for years to come. Here’s a brief snapshot of where we are right now.

Mississippi’s Tanglefoot Trail

Posted 08/06/19 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Hall of Fame, Local Organizing, Mississippi, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability

Something new came to northeast Mississippi in 2013, winding through a handful of sleepy towns nestled into the bucolic foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and awakening a new sense of community pride. All 43.6 miles of the Tanglefoot Trail opened at once, becoming the longest rail-trail in the state, and connecting these communities together like never before.

Atlantic County Bikeway in New Jersey | Photo Courtesy Atlantic County Parks and Recreation

New Jersey Trail Funding On the Line Despite Serious Need for Safer Bike-Ped Routes

Posted 08/02/19 by Liz Sewell, Sonia Szczesna in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Design Strategies, Funding, Local Organizing, New Jersey, Safety and Law Enforcement, State and Federal Programs, Transportation Alternatives, Urban Pathways

Like many states with older transportation infrastructure built on the highway system, New Jersey faces a number of serious challenges related to pedestrian and bicycle safety. Even as the state explores ways to make active transportation safer for citizens, related fatalities are on the rise. This trend illustrates a very real need for the state to rethink its infrastructure and invest in safe routes for people traveling on foot or by bike.

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