2013 Symposium guide:
- 2013 Symposium home page
- National Trails Awards
- Youth Scholarship attendees
- Sponsors
- Core Tracks Workshops
- Concurrent Workshops
- Featured Workshops
- Mobile Workshops
- Highlights of the Symposium
- Schedule at a glance
- Hotels: where to stay
- Travel guide
- Radisson Fort McDowell
- Be a Sponsor or exhibitor
- Exhibit Hall
- Free public event
- Trail Tools Equipment Expo
Symposium Home Page
Download the 40-page Symposium Program with all the great events and activities (pdf 3.1 mb)
See biographies of Core Track & Concurrent Session presenters (pdf 289 kb)
See winners of the 2013 National Trails Awards sponsored by American Trails
Arizona is the location for the 21st American Trails International Trails Symposium (ITS)!
Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation - Radisson Hotel & Conference Center
Near Fountain Hills, Mesa, and Scottsdale, Arizona
Photo by Scottsdale CVB
SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE
• Cyclovia Fountain Hills (10 a.m. - 5 p.m.) followed by free concert - see map of Cyclovia event locations
Sunday, April 14• Mobile Workshops
• Featured Workshops
• Trail Tools Expo
• Exhibit Hall opens with Building Public Awareness Event, free and open to the public (2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.)
• Happy Trails Hour in Exhibit Hall, for attendees only, (5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.)
• Symposium officially begins with Opening Reception (in the Exhibit Hall), for attendees only (6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.)
Monday, April 15
• Opening Keynote Luncheon
• Core Tracks and Concurrent Sessions
• “Trails Rock” Party
• Exhibit Hall Open (8 a.m. – 6 p.m.)
Tuesday, April 16
• Core Tracks and Concurrent Sessions
• Mobile Workshops and Featured Workshops
• National Trails Awards Banquet
• Exhibit Hall Open (10 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.)
Wednesday, April 17• Core Tracks and Concurrent Sessions
• Mobile Workshops and Featured Workshops
• Closing Keynote Luncheon (official closing of Symposium)
Thursday, April 18
WHY you should join us April 14-17, 2013
The biennial American Trails International Trails Symposium (ITS) is your best opportunity to share ideas and learn new techniques in trail planning, development, and management. Dozens of speakers and keynote presenters will join us from the trails community across America and beyond our borders to address the broad range of trail issues:
- Nationally prominent speakers
- State-of-the-art exhibit hall
- Opportunities for sponsors as well as exhibitors
- Mobile workshops on site at local projects
- Seminars and featured workshops before and after the Symposium
- Dozens of concurent sessions and panel discussions
- Non-stop opportunities to meet others who share your interests
- See a promotional video about the Symposiumproduced by Arizona State University's Public Relations Lab by Art Institue of Phoenix's Anthony Eid with students Amy Villarreal, Chad Koch, Devon Shaw, Lalita Patrick, Rachael McBride
Photo by Scottsdale CVB
Welcome INTERNATIONAL speakers, keynotes, and attendees
American Trails is thrilled to host its first International Trails Symposium in Arizon— an international tourist destination! We want to reach across the oceans to harness our combined wisdom to support and encourage the collective dedication to trail initiatives around the world. The program will feature international sessions, which will provide alternative ways of approaching challenges in the trails world and will provide excellent networking opportunities for our attendees. We are stronger and more effective together, and the Symposium is a perfect way for the international trails community to share success stories and lessons learned.
Here is a sampling of confirmed countries to date: Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, United Kingdom.
LOCATION of the 2013 Symposium
See map at right for Symposium location in the east Phoenix area
More about Arizona trails:
- TRACKS works for better trail systems in Arizona
- "Over the Hill Gang" volunteers for Prescott's trail system
- Desert trails and rivers in Fountain Hills, Arizona
- Cyclovia Fountain Hills - April 13, 2013
- Mesa, AZ events for April 2013 (pdf)
- Casa Grande: a community of trail-blazers
- Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve
- Maricopa regional system offers miles of trails
- Volunteers forging Watson Lake loop trail
- Trail restoration after the Wallow Fire of 2011
- The Arizona Trail beckons travellers worldwide
- Completion of the Arizona Trail
- Okanogan Trail Construction tackles the Arizona Trail
- Books and facts about Arizona
The 2013 Symposium theme is "Trails Lead Everywhere," celebrating the remarkable role of trails worldwide. Throughout time, they have united and guided humans across the globe. Trails were the foundation of our communication network and continue to be an essential component of our personal and professional experiences and relationships. As one of our greatest assets trails enable us to explore, travel, and savor the world’s natural wonders, from the highest mountains to the deepest canyons and all the vast open spaces in between. They are the best way to see nature’s hidden treasures, the cleanest way to commute, and the easiest way to encourage kids to adopt healthy lifestyles. Trails are the ribbons that connect us, lead us, and expand our horizons.
Hosts of the 21st American Trails International Trails Symposium:
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"We are pleased to hold our 21st American Trails International Trails Symposium at the elegant Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Resort Destination! Besides the endless beauty of the northern-most part of the Sonoran Desert; the towering, blooming saguaro; flowering ocotillo; jumping cholla; agave; lovely palo verde; soaring hawks; mountain lion tracks; dramatic mountains; and endless sunshine— we are excited to show off the bountiful trail activities within close proximity for all trail types including hiking, bicycling, equestrian, OHV, mountain bicycling, and water. The Fountain Hills, Mesa, and Scottsdale communities are excited for our arrival and look forward to serving the trails community in the Valley of the Sun." -- Pam Gluck, Executive Director, American Trails
McDowell Mountain Regional Park in
Scottsdale (photo by Stuart Macdonald)
Arizona Travel Tips
The Arizona Republic's weekly trail description ~ www.azcentral.com/travel/hiking/
Arizona Hiking Tips ~ www.arizonaguide.com/arizona-travel-info/travel-tips/arizona-hiking-tips
Visiting Tribal Lands ~ www.arizonaguide.com/arizona-travel-info/travel-tips/visiting-tribal-lands
FAQs ~ www.arizonaguide.com/arizona-travel-info/faqs
Summer travel guide ~ www.arizonaguide.com/arizona-travel-info/travel-tips/summer-weather-tips
Download more books and resources for Arizona from Maricopa County Library District: Our State, Our Story - Celebrating 100 years of Arizona (pdf 618 kb)
Previous Symposium locations
To learn more about recent Symposiums, please visit the webpages we created for each of them:
- 2010 in Chattanooga, Tennessee
- 2008 in Little Rock, Arkansas
- 2006 in Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois
- 2004 in Austin, Texas
- 2002 in Orlando, Florida
Is your organization celebrating an anniversary?
We love to celebrate important milestones for trail organizations and events at the American Trails International Symposiums! Email us at symposium@americantrails.org and let us know by February 1 and we will recognize your anniversary at the 21st National Trails Awards Celebration Banquet, as well as on the American Trails website.
Creative Crossings
Submit your projects for our Creative Crossings Photo Gallery! During the Symposium, you will have an opportunity to share the beauty of your trail crossings or bridges in the Creative Crossings Photo Gallery. Recent years have seen the construction of some strikingly beautiful and innovative trail bridge designs. American Trails will showcase those bridges and other trail crossings in a photo gallery in the Exhibit Hall and on the American Trails website. Submit your Creative Crossing photos to the American Trails office by February 15. Email them to Symposium@Americantrails.org along with the name of the bridge, the trail name, the location, and the photo credit.
The 2010 Symposium generated an estimated 1.8 million dollars for the Chattanooga community!
Contact for sponsorships and exhibitors: Candace Mitchell at symposium@americantrails.org or (530) 547-2060
See photos and information from past Symposium Exhibit Halls
Thank You Symposium Sponsors!
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