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