Trail Use Tips Page 2

John Ernest Berry III on the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail in Washington State in August 2019 during a five-day trip with colleague and friend Bob Myrick | Photo by Bob Myrick

Five Days and 100 Miles: A Trip of a Lifetime Across the Cascades (A Memoire)

Posted 11/09/20 by Sue Nicholson in Trail Use, America's Trails | Tagged with Biking, People with Disabilities, Success Stories, Trail Destinations, Trail Use Tips, Washington

John became a staunch advocate for wear-a-helmet programs after the accident that would change his life. While bicycling downhill, a car pulled in front of him—resulting in a collision in which he was propelled through a windshield at 38 miles an hour. He was not wearing a helmet. As a result of the accident, he suffered a brain injury that caused severe short-term memory loss, speech and vision problems, and partial paralysis on his left side. He walks with a cane.

Three Rivers Heritage Trail | Courtesy Healthy Ride, Pittsburgh Bike Share

Six Tips to Carry Your Summer Biking Habit Into Fall

Posted 11/05/20 by PeopleForBikes in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Encouraging Trail Use, Gear, Health and Active Living, How-to, Trail Use Tips, Winter Uses

The beauty of autumn also means cooler temperatures, earlier sunsets and sometimes less-than-ideal weather. For the many of you who picked up biking for the first time this summer or returned after a long hiatus, the thought of braving colder weather while riding might feel intimidating.

Metropolitan Branch Trail | Photo by India Kea

Americans Urged to #RecreateResponsibly As Trail Use Surges During COVID

Posted 10/23/20 by Christina Sturdivant Sani in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with COVID-19, Encouraging Trail Use, Trail Etiquette, Trail Moments, Trail Use Tips, Why Use Trails?

Across the country, some trails spiked to levels more than 200% higher than the same time last year, according to trail count data released by RTC in July. Currently, trail use is still far exceeding previous usage; since the pandemic began, RTC’s trail count data shows that usage has been 60% higher [on average] than in 2019.

The Mom Squad on the W&OD Trail in Northern Virginia | Courtesy Brandi Horton

Stealing Moments of “Me Time” on the Trail as a Mom During COVID

Posted 09/10/20 by Brandi Horton in America's Trails, Health and Wellness, Trail Use | Tagged with COVID-19, Encouraging Trail Use, Schools and Young People, Trail Moments, Trail Use Tips, Virginia, Why Use Trails?

While my moments on the trail can’t fix the systemic inequalities that women face, or the uphill climb many of us are facing during and after the pandemic, these moments on the trail can help me rebuild my resilience. And they are—as often as I can create them.

Three Rivers Heritage Trail | Photo by Healthy Ride, Pittsburgh Bike Share

How Trails and Outdoor Access Provide Important Mental Health Benefits

Posted 09/02/20 by Cory Matteson in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with COVID-19, Encouraging Trail Use, Trail Moments, Trail Use Tips, Why Use Trails?

One significant way millions of Americans are addressing their mental health needs during the coronavirus is through frequent activity in the outdoors. In Lincoln, Nebraska, where I live, the city’s robust trail system has been packed with more cyclists, roller bladers, runners and walkers than I’d ever encountered before in a spring trail season.

Birdwatching in Tacony Creek Park | Courtesy Tookany-Tacony Frankford Watershed Partnership

Philly Birder Takes Fledgling Bird Enthusiasts Under His Wing

Posted 09/01/20 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Circuit Trails, Ecology and Environment, Encouraging Trail Use, Equity, Featured Magazine Articles, Trail Moments, Trail Use Tips, TrailNation, Wild and Wonderful

“For me, the special part of those experiences has been having so many different types of people participating,” enthused Keith Russell. “You have families come out with kids and people who are in their 70s and 80s. I’m always so thrilled that you have such diversity; birding doesn’t just attract one section of the community or one type of person.”

Dunes on the Pierre Stocking Scenic Drive Overlook | Photo by Robert Annis

Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail: A Pedal Along a Michigan Marvel

Posted 08/26/20 by Robert Annis in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with COVID-19, Michigan, Trail Destinations, Trail Use Tips

Sleeping Bear Dunes had almost everything I was looking for, even one of the best rail-trails in the country. I’d heard too many great things about the 22-mile Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail over the years, and I wanted to finally ride it myself.

Wissahickon Trail in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Photo by Patrick Wittwer | CC by 2.0

Taking Care of Our Trails and Parks in the Midst of COVID-19

Posted 05/22/20 by Amy Kapp, Eric Oberg in America's Trails | Tagged with COVID-19, Maintenance and Volunteers, Trail Etiquette, Trail Moments, Trail Use Tips

As trails remain on the front lines in providing outdoor opportunities and mobility for Americans, managers continue to explore new ways to work with their communities to ensure positive experiences for record numbers of users in the face of limited maintenance resources, reduced staffing and curtailed volunteer activities.

Great Allegheny Passage just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Photo by Milo Bateman

How the Great Allegheny Passage Transformed a Region

Posted 05/12/20 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Connected Systems, Featured Magazine Articles, Great American Rail-Trail, Pennsylvania, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail Use Tips

The story of the GAP is one of vision, tenacity and transformation. But at the heart of it all, it is the story of what’s possible when people come together with a great idea.

Minuteman Commuter Bikeway | Courtesy Friends of Lexington Bikeways

Good Trail Etiquette Has Never Been More Essential Than It Is Right Now.

Posted 04/02/20 by Amy Kapp in Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with COVID-19, Safety and Law Enforcement, Trail Etiquette, Trail Moments, Trail Use Tips

Where trails are open—especially in areas where parks and other outdoor recreation facilities have closed—there has been an influx of new users and recognition that safe use and trail etiquette have never been so vital to the health of our nation.