Trail of the Month Page 4

Tennessee's Shelby Farms Greenline

Posted 05/16/16 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Celebrating 30 Years, Tennessee, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Running and biking on the popular Shelby Farms Greenline | Photo courtesy Shelby Farms Park Conservancy

Memphis is singing a new song to the tune of a bike bell. The Home of the Blues, once settling near the bottom of lists ranking pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly cities, is climbing its way up thanks largely to an explosion of demand sparked by the Shelby Farms Greenline, one of the city’s most popular multi-use trails. Just last year, the city earned a Bronze-Level Bicycle Friendly Community designation, an honor that just a few years ago would have seemed unlikely if not downright impossible.

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Spectacular mountains along the Rio Grande Trail | Photo courtesy Roaring Fork Transportation Authority

Colorado’s Rio Grande Trail

Posted 04/11/16 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Celebrating 30 Years, Colorado, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

The windswept beauty of sage brush and scrub oaks, richly scented forests of ponderosa and spruce, verdant crops and ranchlands ringed in jagged mountains and crystal clear rivers: These are the visual postcards of Colorado. The beloved Rio Grande Trail traverses this rich mix of terrains along a 42-mile route (nearly all paved) winding from the famed ski town of Aspen to Glenwood Springs.

The well-loved Walkway Over the Hudson serves a multitude of users. | Photo by Fred Schaeffer

New York's Hudson Valley Trail Network

Posted 03/17/16 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Celebrating 30 Years, Hall of Fame, New York, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

The morning wind playfully tousles Fred Schaeffer’s hair as he stands in quiet wonder on the Walkway Over the Hudson—something he’s done for nearly a decade of mornings since the trail opened. The view looking out over the inky waters of the river more than 200 feet below and the sleepy hillsides awakening against a softly brightening sky is one he never tires of. The enchanting setting is fitting for something once deemed impossible.

The rural southern end of the rail-trail. | Photo by Kelly R Williams

Oregon’s Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Posted 01/19/16 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Celebrating 30 Years, Oregon, Tourism , Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

A thread of black in an emerald blanket, the Banks-Vernonia State Trail weaves its way between two peaceful towns in the foothills of Northwest Oregon’s Coast Range, less than an hour’s drive from Portland. Most of the 22-mile paved pathway is enveloped by the tall trees that attracted the lumber industry in the early 1900s—a verdant mix of Douglas fir, maple, cedar and alder.

Rio Grande Trail | Photo courtesy RFTA

RTC Invites America to Choose 2016 Hall of Fame Rail-Trail

Posted 01/19/16 by Laura Stark in Trail Use, America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Celebrating 30 Years, Hall of Fame, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

In recognition of the 30th anniversary of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC), we’ll be conducting a public vote for the 30th entry into the prestigious Rail-Trail Hall of Fame. Here's a quick look at our five candidates, which will be highlighted in our Trail of the Month TrailBlog feature stories between January and May. Take a look!

The North Bend Rail Trail out of North Bend State Park, near Cairo, West Virginia. | Photo by Jake Lynch

West Virginia's North Bend Rail Trail

Posted 12/09/15 by Jake Lynch in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Rural Communities, Success Stories, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, West Virginia

There aren’t many rail-trail stories like this. In the late 1980s, the abandoned CSX rail corridor that would one day become the North Bend Rail Trail was little more than an overgrown afterthought—a dumping ground, a place for derelict “partying,” an informal pathway for hunters and landowners in a densely wooded part of rural West Virginia. All that was about to change.

Florida’s Snake Creek Trail | Photo courtesy Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department

Florida’s Snake Creek Trail

Posted 11/17/15 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Florida, Health and Active Living, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Urban Pathways

Neighborhood trails don’t come much nicer than the Snake Creek Trail in southeast Florida. While not a rail-trail, the paved 6.5-mile route offers a similar easy and level riding experience along a pleasant, palm-tree-dotted canal connecting North Miami Beach and Miami Gardens (home of the Miami Dolphins).

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.

Sanibel Island beach | Photo by Robert Styppa

Florida’s Sanibel Island Shared-Use Paths

Posted 06/15/15 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, Florida, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Sun, sea, and sandy beaches: Florida’s Sanibel Island is a summer sanctuary. Better yet, the island’s extensive shared-use path system—totaling 24 paved miles—provides access to it all: beaches, a wildlife refuge and rehabilitation center, a historical lighthouse and village, a renowned seashell museum, restaurants, shops and just about everything else in this laid-back community on the Gulf Coast.

Mopac Trail West | Photo courtesy Market to Market Relay

Nebraska's MoPac Trail East and West

Posted 05/12/15 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, Nebraska, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Exciting change is literally afoot in the Cornhusker State. Omaha currently ranks among the top 50 of America’s Best Bike Cities, and less than a dozen miles separate its trail system from Lincoln’s. The MoPac Trail, which will join them, is also a key piece of a bigger puzzle, the developing Quad State Trail, a regional network which will span more than 700 miles in four Midwestern states: Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri.