Trails for Health Award

This award recognizes a community’s commitment to improving access to trails and promoting their use and importance for increasing physical activity.

 

Quad City Health Initiative, Be Healthy QC Coalition, and Bi-State Regional Commission

The trail locator website, QCTrails.org, helps visitors and residents find trails

Quad City Health Initiative, Be Healthy QC Coalition, and Bi-State Regional Commission are working to promote trails and to create a culture of wellness that supports healthy eating and active living.

The Quad Cities’ trail network is located at the intersection of two national trail systems, the American Discovery Trail and the Mississippi River Trail. In 1999, the Quad City Health Initiative was established to improve health in the region.

In 2013, the Be Healthy QC Coalition (BHQC) was formed to create a culture of wellness that supports healthy eating and active living. BHQC’s objective was to increase access to the network of trails and connected greenspaces within the community by creating an interactive trails website.

The challenge was to capture people power, form partnerships, collect vast amounts of information, make it available in a single web-based trail map, and get the word out about this new resource. Project staff participated in community events and health and wellness fairs, along with a community-wide education and communication campaign. The new trail locator website, QCTrails.org, aids visitors and residents in finding area trails connecting to the national trail network. It increases opportunities for recreational and fitness activities and adds to the livability of the community.


More winners of this award

2023: Arizona Alliance for Livable Communities

2019: Trails for Health Award: City of Baton Rouge

2015: Get Your Tail on the Trail

2010: Step Into Cuba Alliance

2008: Pottstown Health and Wellness Foundation

2006: Arkansas River Trail Medical Mile Project

2006: Memorial Hospital Foundation - River Bluff Trail, Logansport, Indiana

2004: Jane Lambert