Resource Library:

Planning And Design

Subcategories • Accessible Trail DesignCase StudiesCost EstimatingFeasibility StudiesLivable/Active CommunitiesLand Acquisition and ConservationMaster PlansSignage and InterpretationTrailheadsTrail Networks DesignTrails as TransportationClosing Trail System GapsWildlife and Habitat



published May 2021

Ready, Set, Plan!?

by Oregon Trails Coalition

A guide for anyone who wants to better understand trails planning, decision making, and trail project development. If you’re a trail enthusiast with big ideas, a trail advocate, a stewardship volunteer, or public agency staff person interfacing with local partners, this guide is for you.


posted Feb 19, 2018

Reclaiming Cleveland

Two key projects in revitalizing Cleveland are the Centennial Trail Lake Link and the "Re-Connecting Cleveland: Pathways to Opportunity" TIGER grant project.


published Sep 2007

Recreational Horse Trails in Rural and Wildland Areas: Design, Construction, and Maintenance

American Trails Magazine editor, Stuart Macdonald, reviews Dr. Wood's equestrian trail book.


posted Feb 19, 2018

Reducing Impacts, Reusing Land, and Recycling a Healthy Lifestyle and Landscape

This session will promote the benefits of conducting critical focus on whether your area’s trails are really producing the healthy lifestyle benefits they should and at the lowest environmental impact possible.


posted Feb 19, 2018

Regional Trails – Connecting Rural and Urban Communities

Planning and implementation of three complex regional trail systems in three western states.


posted Jun 4, 2019

Regional Trails as the Spine of a Small Town and Rural Active Transportation Networks

by Richard Allen with Frontenac County, Ontario, Mike Rose with Alta Planning + Design, Ezra Lipton with Alta Planning + Design

Trails have the opportunity to seamlessly connect vast regions. They become the spine of an active transportation network, that connects people to areas beyond the trail’s reach.


published Dec 2019

Resource Protection and Monitoring Skills and Competencies

by American Trails Staff

Specific skills used in management of natural resources that host trails and greenways: monitoring impacts of visitors and natural processes; acquisition and protection of trail corridors; conservation and restoration of habitat and natural areas.


published Aug 2008

Rio Grande Trail Corridor Study: Trail Surfacing Report

This report sorts through the various choices for the most "economical and sustainable" types of trail surfacing options along the proposed Rio Grande Trail corridor from Belen to Sunland Park, New Mexico.


posted Feb 19, 2018

Roads to Trails

Learn the step-by-step process for a full mechanical road-to-trail conversion from planning and outreach to design, construction, and working with volunteers.


posted Aug 3, 2020

Safe Routes to Everywhere

by Rails to Trails Conservancy

Transportation connects people and places. It provides access to jobs, education, shopping and recreation. More than one-quarter of all trips we make are less than a mile — an easy walking distance — and nearly one-half of all trips are within three miles — an easy biking distance. Yet, we make more than 78 percent of these short trips by car.