Trail Businesses

Indiana’s Cardinal Greenway

Posted 09/06/18 by Robert Annis in America's Trails, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Best Of, Encouraging Trail Use, Facts and FIgures, Featured Magazine Articles, Health and Active Living, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Indiana, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Trail Use Tips, Walkability and Bikeability

Trail crossing over the White River along the Cardinal Greenway near the McCulloch Riverview Trailhead in Muncie, Indiana | Photo by Tony Valainis

Decades ago, a disused railroad line found new life, becoming the Cardinal Greenway, Indiana’s longest rail-trail. But with some ambitious new projects planned, the newest member of the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame—which is also celebrating its 25th anniversary as a trail in 2018—is about to experience yet another rebirth.

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Kinzua Bridge Skywalk | Photo by Anthony Le, courtesy Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Nine Can’t-Miss Moments from Our Guidebook Mapping Trips!

Posted 08/29/18 by Suzanne Matyas in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Biking, Encouraging Trail Use, Gear, Health and Active Living, History Happened Here, Mapping and Technology, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, RTC in Action, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?, Wild and Wonderful

We here at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy are a lucky bunch. Not only do we get to spend our days blazing the way for built and budding trails across the country, but, for a few weeks every summer, we also get to explore and map trails for our regional guidebooks.

View from the Augusta Canal | Photo courtesy Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau

Georgia’s Augusta Canal Trail

Posted 08/13/18 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Connected Systems, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Georgia, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Local Organizing, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability

Like the fabled yellow brick road, Georgia’s Augusta Canal Trail unfolds with a soft orange hue and unexpected delights with every footstep or turn of the wheel. The packed-dirt trail, spanning just shy of 8 miles, follows an old towpath that is enveloped in history, paralleling the oldest continuously operating hydropower canal in the United States.

Urban Tilth community garden | Photo courtesy Urban Tilth

These Farm Markets and Gardens Are Inspiring Health on America's Trails

Posted 08/09/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails | Tagged with Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, BATC, Featured Magazine Articles, Health and Active Living, LowerRioGrande, Success Stories, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, TrailNation, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability

What’s better than a farmers’ market or community garden for providing locally grown food and encouraging good eating? Why, a market or garden next to a trail, of course! Here are three that are leading the charge for food equity, healthy lifestyles and social interaction in America’s underserved communities.

Delaware River Trail | Photo by Laura Stark

Find the Fun with a Scavenger Hunt on Greater Philadelphia’s Circuit Trails

Posted 07/27/18 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Circuit Trails, Community Events, Connected Systems, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, History Happened Here, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Destinations, Trail Use Tips, Transportation and Health, Urban Pathways, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?, Wild and Wonderful

Walking, bicycling, skating, wildlife viewing—these are all the usual suspects of trail use, but this summer, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and our friends with the Circuit Trails are challenging visitors and residents in the Greater Philadelphia region to add another fun activity to the list: scavenger hunting! The Circuit Trails Scavenger Hunt, running now through Sept. 22, provides the perfect opportunity to revisit some favorite spots or explore new ones on the ever-expanding 300-miles-plus trail system throughout Philadelphia, and Camden, New Jersey.

North Pathway | Photo by Tim Young

Wyoming’s North Pathway

Posted 07/12/18 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, Health and Active Living, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability, Wyoming

Tucked into Wyoming’s scenic northwestern corner, the North Pathway is what summer vacations are made for. From the charming town of Jackson—the gateway to two national parks—the paved pathway unwinds 20 miles north through a backdrop of sagebrush meadows and the unparalleled beauty of the Grand Teton mountain range. And at trail’s end is a pristine glacial lake surrounded by high canyon walls etched with hiking trails to explore.

Lamoille Valley Rail Trail | Photo by TrailLink user bobwhite

Vermont's Lamoille Valley Rail Trail

Posted 05/15/18 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, Health and Active Living, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Vermont, Walkability and Bikeability

During the pleasant summer months of northern Vermont, the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail offers an extraordinary experience as it journeys through a verdant river valley tucked among the forested slopes of the Green Mountains.

San Francisco Bay Trail in Fort Mason, California | Photo by Cindy Barks

How California’s “Prop. 68” Could Be a Big Win for Trails, Walking and Biking

Posted 04/16/18 by Andrew Dupuy in Policy, Building Trails | Tagged with BATC, California, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Ecology and Environment, Facts and FIgures, Funding, Local Organizing, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities

The Parks, Environment and Water Bond, on this June's statewide ballot as Proposition 68, or “Prop. 68,” includes major funding opportunities for trails, biking and walking. We’re encouraging all California voters to get out and vote yes in June on this long overdue $4 billion investment in parks, trails and clean, safe water.

Mario Brown from the Center for Health Equity at the University of Pittsburgh and Adventure Cycling member George Thomas in front of Bertie Hall, along the Niagara River Recreation Trail in Ontario, Canada, during the 2007 inaugural tour of the Underground Railroad Bicycling Route | Photo by C. Spratling, courtesy Adventure Cycling Association

Five Rail-Trails Along the Underground Railroad

Posted 02/15/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails | Tagged with Canada, Connected Systems, Facts and FIgures, History Happened Here, New York, Ohio, Trail Businesses

Spanning more than 2,007 miles between Alabama and Canada, the Underground Railroad (UGRR) Bicycle Route, memorializes the network that helped slaves escape to freedom before and during the Civil War.

The Strand with bike riders, Parklands of Floyds Fork | Photo by Ted Wathen / Quadrant

Kentucky's Louisville Loop

Posted 02/12/18 by Amy Ahn in America's Trails, Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Best Of, Facts and FIgures, Kentucky, Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, TrailsTransform, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

Louisvillians officially named the Louisville Loop in 2005, but you could argue that trails run in this city’s lifeblood. In the 1890s, pre-eminent landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. envisioned large community parks connected to the neighborhoods of Louisville via “ribbons of green.” His tree-lined parkways still exist today and will serve as spokes to the 100-miles-plus Loop, once complete.

San Francisco Bay Trail in California | Photo by Cindy Barks

These Eight Trail Networks Are Connecting Millions of Americans

Posted 12/06/17 by Amy Kapp, Laura Stark in Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, BATC, Best Of, California, Capital Trails Coalition, Circuit Trails, Connected Systems, Disparities and Underserved Communities, Ecology and Environment, Facts and FIgures, History Happened Here, IHTC, LowerRioGrande, Maryland, Miami LOOP, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, Texas, Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, TrailNation, Walkability and Bikeability, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Young Champions

In eight diverse areas across the country, through our TrailNation™ program, RTC is investing in projects that demonstrate what’s possible when trails are seamlessly linked together to form complete systems that are well integrated into the communities they serve—providing low-stress, high-quality and environmentally friendly transportation and recreation for all.

Animas River Trail | Photo by Cindy Barks

Colorado’s Animas River Trail

Posted 11/08/17 by Cindy Barks in America's Trails, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Best Of, Colorado, Demand for Trails, Facts and FIgures, Funding, Health and Active Living, Rail-with-Trail, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability

Trains and trails: In Durango, Colorado, the two are inseparable. For walkers and bicyclists along the town’s scenic Animas River Trail, the white-and-gray plumes of steam rising from the old locomotives and the echo of train whistles are common sights and sounds.