Trail of the Month Page 2

Indiana's Erie Lackawanna Trail

Posted 03/16/18 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Community Events, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Indiana, Success Stories, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability

Erie Lackawanna Trail | Photo by Eric Allix Rogers

Northwest Indiana’s Erie Lackawanna Trail offers an experience of beautiful contrasts. The region boasts sandy dunes, a glimmering Great Lake and windswept prairies, but also has a rich industrial and railroad heritage, some of the largest cities in the state, and the urbanization and cultural vibrancy that comes with its close proximity to Chicago. The diversity and bounty of these surroundings is well matched by the area’s growing system of interconnected multi-use trails that’s allowing near-seamless people-powered transportation between these natural and manmade assets. The nearly 18-mile Erie Lackawanna Trail alone connects to or is in close range of half dozen other trails.

Full Story
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.

D&L Trail | Photo courtesy Pocono Biking

Pennsylvania’s D&L Trail

Posted 01/17/18 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Circuit Trails, Connected Systems, Delaware, History Happened Here, Pennsylvania, Sojourn Series, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail of the Month, TrailNation

If you’re only planning to take one bike trip this year, eastern Pennsylvania’s D&L Trail is not only at the top of our list, but also ranks in the top 10 most-viewed trails on TrailLink.com by trail users

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.

View of Simon Kenton Trail bridge from Buck Creek Trail | Photo by Louis Agresta

Ohio’s Simon Kenton Trail

Posted 10/13/17 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, Connected Systems, Design Strategies, IHTC, Local Organizing, Ohio, Rail-with-Trail, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Trail Use Tips

Western Ohio’s Simon Kenton Trail, named for a 17th-century frontiersman (and friend of Daniel Boone), offers the perfect opportunity for today’s travelers to do their own exploring of the state’s scenic woodlands and rural landscapes on a 35-mile adventure stretching from Springfield to Bellefontaine. For an even more epic experience, the trail is seamlessly integrated into the expansive Miami Valley trails network, which offers 340 miles of paved trails coalescing in and around the Dayton metro area.

The Cowboy Trail's spectacular crossing of the Niobrara River near Valentine | Photo by Eric Foster

Nebraska's Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail

Posted 09/12/17 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use, Building Trails | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Funding, Local Organizing, Maintenance and Volunteers, Nebraska, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Adventurers, take out your bucket lists and write this one down. Nebraska’s Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail offers an authentic Old West experience, small towns with genuine, friendly people and picturesque landscapes of the High Plains and pristine prairie. At a whopping 219 miles, it’s already the third longest rail-trail in the country and yet has 100 more miles awaiting future development.

The trail winds through St. Tammany Parish towns and green spaces | Courtesy LouisianaNorthshore.com

Louisiana’s Tammany Trace

Posted 08/16/17 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, Community Events, Encouraging Trail Use, Hall of Fame, History Happened Here, Louisiana, Tourism , Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability

The Tammany Trace is a Southern belle nestled in the pristine natural surroundings of the Northshore across a vast lake from vibrant New Orleans. Spanning 27 miles, the paved pathway crosses a number of small creeks and bayous on more than two dozen bridges, connecting five quaint towns—Covington, Abita Springs, Mandeville, Lacombe and Slidell—each with their own unique character and appeal.

Photo courtesy The Shared Experience | CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Massachusetts’ Cape Cod Rail Trail

Posted 07/06/17 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, History Happened Here, Massachusetts, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Nestled in an iconic vacation destination about 75 miles down the coast from Boston, the flavor of the Cape Cod Rail Trail is pure summertime: sun-warmed beaches, sparkling waves, refreshing swimming holes and state park campsites nestled among the pines and oaks.

View of Potomac River along Capital Crescent Trail | Photo by Milo Bateman

Maryland and Washington, D.C.’s Capital Crescent Trail

Posted 06/13/17 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, Capital Trails Coalition, District Of Columbia, History Happened Here, Maryland, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Forming an emerald arc around western portion of the District of Columbia, the Capital Crescent Trail connects Washington to its Maryland suburbs. The pathway is so lushly wooded that, at times, it might be easy to forget the thrum of the nation’s capital lies just over the trees.

Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail | Photo by Elizabeth Bean Photography

California’s Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail

Posted 05/12/17 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, California, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Summer excursions don’t come much better than this: 18 miles of smooth, paved trail ringside to California’s stunning Monterey Bay, in some places so close to water’s edge that waves occasionally wash over it. The Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail is truly immersed in its seaside environment, providing access to sandy beaches, fishing piers and marinas bustling with small boats bright white against the deep blue water.

The trail offers unbeatable views of the Pittsburgh skyline | Photo by Kelly Carter, courtesy Friends of the Riverfront

Pennsylvania’s Three Rivers Heritage Trail

Posted 04/07/17 by Laura Stark in Trail Use, America's Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, Local Organizing, Pennsylvania, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Spiraling outward from downtown Pittsburgh, the 24-mile Three Rivers Heritage Trail traces the banks of three waterways—the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio—that lifted the city to prominence as America’s industrial powerhouse. The development of this paved pathway, which began more than 25 years ago, sparked a biking revolution that is continuing to turn the famed “Steel City” into “Wheel City.”