Tourism Page 5

What’s the Real Impact of Trail Use in America? RTC Is About to Find Out.

Posted 09/02/15 by Tracy Hadden Loh in Building Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Tourism and Economic Stimulus

Burke-Gilman Trail | Photo by Barbara Richey

This August, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) embarked on the first-ever nationwide survey of trail use, a major component of RTC’s three-year T-MAP initiative. The tools developed through T-MAP are expected to change the standards for trail development in the United States—revealing the most effective and powerful ways to integrate urban trails into full-fledged active-transportation networks.

Full Story
A peaceful, rural scene along the Tanglefoot Trail | Photo by Melissa Campbell

Mississippi’s Tanglefoot Trail

Posted 08/12/15 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Mississippi, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

At 44 miles, the Tanglefoot Trail has edged out the Longleaf Trace for the longest rail-trail in the state and can easily rub shoulders with the Rail-Trail Hall of Famer in terms of scenery, friendly towns, historical significance and trailside amenities. Its feeling is undeniably rural; cattle and sheep roam the pastures alongside the trail, and fields of soybeans, cotton and corn unfold under a wide sky.

Trail users crossing the trestle at the Fries Junction | Photo by Tom Bilcze, courtesy Traillink.com

Virginia's New River Trail State Park

Posted 07/13/15 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Virginia

Nestled in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Highlands, the New River Trail State Park offers 57 miles of green. With most of the trail running under a lush canopy of trees, and the presence of two invitingly dark tunnels, the low-grade, crushed-stone trail provides a pleasant summer ride. Its proximity to the New River, which is actually one of the world’s oldest rivers (geologically, speaking), also offers prime opportunities to cool off with canoe, kayak and tubing trips, or a simple dip in the water.

Granite State Rail Trail | Photo by Dick Mackay

Rail-Trail Provides Economic Engine in the Granite State

Posted 04/22/15 by Carl Knoch in America's Trails | Tagged with Encouraging Trail Use, New Hampshire, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities

From the Massachusetts state line to Lebanon, rail-trail development is booming in New Hampshire. The Granite State Rail Trail, when complete, will run 115 miles from the Connecticut River to Methuen. The Derry-Windham Rail Trail has been used as a multi-use pathway since the 1980s, and efforts to begin paving the trail began in the mid-2000s. Now, trail tourism is on the rise as new businesses, which cater to walkers and bikers of all ages, experience a surge of business.

Atlanta's Eastside Trail | Photo by Ryan Gravel

Transforming Atlanta

Posted 04/21/15 by Rebecca Serna in America's Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Connected Systems, Featured Magazine Articles, Georgia, Success Stories, Tourism and Economic Stimulus

Today, a decade and a half after Georgia Tech graduate student Ryan Gravel laid out a simple, elegant vision for Atlanta's former railroad tracks in his master’s thesis, it’s safe to say that the city is once again being shaped by the convergence of railroad tracks and development.

Photo by Scott Hagan | Courtesy Clark County, Nevada

Nevada’s Lower Las Vegas Wash Trail

Posted 04/10/15 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Nevada, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Las Vegas: The name conjures up bright lights, flamboyant shows, glitzy hotels and casinos that never close, but a growing outdoor movement is changing that perception. Get the scoop on the 13.4-mile Lower Las Vegas Wash Trail, which comprises the trail network’s eastern arc and is always a sure bet with beautiful parks, desert landscapes and vistas of the rugged mountains that ring the valley.

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.

C&O Canal Towpath | Photo courtesy Trail Voice | CC by 2.0

New Proposal Could Mean User Fees for C&O Canal Towpath

Posted 01/16/15 by Amy Kapp in Trail Use | Tagged with District Of Columbia, Maryland, Tourism and Economic Stimulus

In early January 2015, the National Park Service (NPS) announced that it is proposing user fees on the entire length of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park (a.k.a. C&O Canal Towpath), which runs 184.5 miles from Georgetown in Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Md.

View of the Kinnickinnic River from the trail | Photo by John December

Wisconsin's Kinnickinnic River Trail

Posted 01/13/15 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Success Stories, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Wisconsin

The story of Milwaukee’s Kinnickinnic River Trail is the story of its eponymous river; paralleling each other through the city’s south side, the fate of the two is intimately intertwined. The KK River Trail, as it’s known locally, is also referred to as the “lost river.”