NEWEST RESOURCES on AmericanTrails.org

Recently added articles, studies, plans, photo galleries, and other resources for trails and greenways

See all of the topics and articles in the Resources & Library area

See presentations from the 2008 National Trails Symposium

 

Accessibility

• Key points and concerns about proposed Accessibility Guidelines; public comment sought
• Access Board to release draft Final Guidelines for federal outdoor recreation sites and trails
• Accessible trails: photo gallery of surfacing considerations and examples
• Boardwalks for accessibile trails and nature walks: photo gallery
• Update on Access Board proposed guidelines for Outdoor Developed Sites including trails
• Accessibility Action Plan for USDA Forest Service Programs and Facilities
  

Advocacy

• Partnership enables Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway to cross Pyramid Indian Reservation land
• Working together works: Equestrians and motorcyclists join forces as trail volunteers
• The Power of Partnerships: Two Arkansas Success Stories (pdf 1.9 mb)
  

Benefits and Economics

• Sharing our love of dirt: trail building in the Philippines, by Tony Boone
• Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Home Values in U.S. Cities
• New York State's Erie Canalway Trail brings new life to communities
• Tourism benefits encourage closing trail links in Florida along East Coast Greenway
• Hatfield-McCoy Trail Receives $157,115 Tourism Marketing Grant

Bicycle/Pedestrian Facilities

• Pavement markings and warning stencils for trails and bikeways
• A Resolution Calling for Rails With Trails in Virginia
• Complete Streets: including all the elements to provide multi-modal transportation
• Encouraging Bicycling and Walking: The State Legislative Role
  

Bridges, Structures, and Facilities

• Walkway Over the Hudson National Recreation Trail is rail bridge to trail project
• Beaman Park Trail Bridge was built by volunteers in Nashville, TN (pdf 2.4 mb)
• Grade-Separated Trail Crossings (pdf 8 mb), by Loris and Associates and Alta Planning + Design
• Walkway Over the Hudson: Creating the World’s Longest Pedestrian Bridge (8.6 mb)

Cool Trail Solutions photo galleries

• Trails crossing under active railroad lines and bridges
• Signs and information boards at access points and trailheads
• Recycled railroad bridges on rail to trail projects
• Trail maps on signs and at trailheads
• Flood damage on Waller Creek Trail, Austin, Texas
• Railings along trails and greenways in urban areas
• Trail-side art in San Diego encourages cancer patients to fight
• Rails WITH trails: corridor sharing by pathways and active railroads
• Accessible trails: surfacing considerations and examples
• Dual tread trails: multiple use aided by multiple pathways
• Waller Creek Trail: limestone trail and rock work, Austin, Texas
• Steel trail bridges in typical greenway applications

Community trail systems

• Trails add value to new homes and give the developer the highest investment return
• San Jose’s trail network is the foundation for its Green Vision
• Inviting the Community Back Into the Woods: Natural Trails in Urban Landscapes (pdf of PowerPoint 760 kb)
• Boulder, Colorado, program connects trails and the arts; by Susan L. Pence

Design and Management

• Photo gallery of rails with trails projects sharing pathways and active railroads
• Solving management policy issues for trail systems by Terry Whaley
• Guidance for Managing Informal Trails, by Jeff Marion
• Off-Road Vehicle Management under Forest Service Travel Management Rule

Environment and Wildlife

• Connecticut DEP Assessment of Trail Conditions Along Enduro Routes (pdf 260kb)
• Diseases of Humans and Horses (Zoonosis): health and water impacts .by Faye Brophy, DVM
• Does horse manure on trails harm hikers or pollute water?

Funding

• Federal health grants can fund bike/ped programs
• Bikes Belong awards grants for trails and bicycle facilities
• TIGER grants can benefit trail and greenway projects under ARRA
• Federal agencies plan trail and resource projects with economic recovery funds
• Breyer Animal Creations and ELRC provide equestrian trail preservation grant
• Connecting young adults, good work, and transportation funding
• Conservation Corps and Transportation: Making the Connection

Greenways and Water Trails

• Beyond Greenways: Green Communities and Sustainability in Southeast Michigan
• The evolution of Denver's Platte River Greenway system; by Bob Searns (pdf 1.5 mb)

Kids and Young Adults on the Trails

• Vermont’s No Child Left Inside Initiative
• America's Youth, America's Trails: service and conservation corps are a great resource
• Shovels in the ground for recovery: ARRA funding for youth and conservation corps
• Partner with a Corps in five steps, from The Corps Network
• Maine Conservation Corps is a partner for all seasons
• Dirty kids are the best kind of kids, by Fredric Rice, San Gabriel Mountains Trailbuilders
• 21st Century Youth Conservation Corps initiative from US Department of Interior
• The Built Environment: Designing Communities to Promote Physical Activity in Children

Planning

• Lake Ontario Greenway Strategy: a Vision for the Future
• Principles of Recreation Resource Planning, from National Association of Recreation Resource Planners
• Great Rivers Greenway: Building a Regional Greenway and Trail System
• Tennessee Greenways and Trails Plan, 2008 (pdf 2.8 mb)
  

Research and Policy

• Changing demographics and reaching new visitors to National Forests in California
• San Jose, California trail counts show annual increases in trail use
• Measuring and Monitoring Trail Use: A Nationwide Survey of State and Federal Trail Managers
• Conservation Corps and Transportation: Making the Connection funding and policy guide
• Federal agency leaders discuss 2009-10 issues and initiatives for trails and recreation
• 25 years of the federal railbanking program: successes, statistics, and landowner impacts
• Futurist Ken Harris sees challenges for trails ahead
• Missouri Equestrian Survey: Understanding Horse Riders Trail Use (pdf of PowerPoint 1.1 mb)

Safety and Liability

• Guide to Establishing a Safe Routes to School State Network
• Sharing Our Trails: A Guide to Trail Safety and Enjoyment
• Bollards contribute to safety and security on the Sacramento River Trail
• Vermont proposes "assumption of risk" legislation

Training and Education

• Wildlife and habitat interpretive signs and displays (photo gallery)
• Conservation Corps provide trail training opportunities
• Modified Belt Sander Sharpens Axes and Pulaskis, USFS Technology & Development Program

 

See all of the topics and articles in the Resources & Library area

See the list of NTTP Steering Committee members and a comprehensive list of agencies and organizations supporting the National Trails Training Partnership.