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posted Jul 24, 2023

Trail Competency Framework

by The Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands at Indiana University

A group of nationwide trail professionals representing federal agencies, trail nonprofits, and the private sector initiated this project to develop a common trail competency framework, focusing on enhancing professionalism as well as a higher level of skill.

posted May 9, 2022

Hub for Information on Trail Users

Everything you need to know about trail counters, trail user surveys, and other information to better understand and engage your trail users.*

posted Apr 11, 2022

Impact of Trails Hub

Everything you need to know about the positive impact of trails on health, environment, economics, and more.

posted Feb 14, 2022

Trail Planning and Design Hub

Everything you need to know about trail planning and design for long lasting trails.

posted Jan 18, 2022

Shared-Use Trail Hub

Everything you need to know about planning, building, and managing shared-use trails.

posted Nov 9, 2021

Trail Accessibility Hub

Everything you need to know about planning, building, and maintaining accessible trails.

posted Sep 13, 2020

12 Resources for Building Trail Stewards

by Taylor Goodrich with American Trails

Use this library of resources, articles, and trainings to create an army of effective trail stewards.

posted Aug 5, 2019

Planning Trails With Wildlife in Mind - Wildlife and Trails Primer

by American Trails Staff

The Primer provides discussion of broad wildlife topics, plus key concepts and rules of thumb to help with trail planning and management.

posted Jun 24, 2019

Volunteer Stewardship Tools

by Taylor Goodrich with American Trails

Managing volunteers to achieve high quality trail stewardship work for land managers is not easy. Explore the tools and resources available to you that will help you start, expand or enhance your outdoor stewardship volunteer program, achieving your goals, and providing exceptional service to land managers.

posted Aug 14, 2018

Fort River Birding and Nature Trail, Massachusetts

The one-mile trail provides a chance to enjoy the natural world at Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge.

posted Aug 14, 2018

Pomeroy and Newark Rail Trail, Delaware

This designated National Recreation Trail runs 4.18 miles through northern Delaware and includes Recreational Trails Program funding.

posted Mar 13, 2018

Active Transportation and Parks and Recreation

by National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA)

A national study on Active Transportation and Parks and Recreation.

posted Mar 21, 2022

10-Year Trail Shared Stewardship Challenge

by USDA Forest Service

Why Do We Need a Trail Challenge? Despite the great work happening in support of trails, workload demands continue to outpace the capacity of agency staff, partners, and volunteers. To address these shortcomings, the Forest Service has issued a 10-year Trail Challenge. It focuses the collective energy and resources of the trail community on actions resulting in greater collective capacity to manage and maintain trails, as well as more miles of trails that are well-designed, well-maintained, and well-suited to support recreation use today and into the future.


posted Mar 15, 2022

Trails Appropriations Request Submitted to Congress

Read the public witness testimony.


posted Mar 10, 2022

Chattahoochee River NRA Water Trail

A 48-mile water trail along the Chattahoochee River in Georgia. The water trail is contained within the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (NRA).


posted Mar 9, 2022

Owens Field Pump Track, South Carolina

In April 2021, the City of Columbia, South Carolina used Recreational Trails Program (RTP) funds to improve the Owens Field Pump Track


posted Mar 9, 2022

COVID-19 Conservation Corps

by Trail Mix, Inc.

Successes and lessons from the COVID-19 Conservation Corps programs in Juneau, Anchorage, and Sitka that trained and employed out-of-work Alaskans in 2020.


posted Feb 14, 2022

Highway-Rail Crossing Handbook

by Kimley-Horn Planning and Design Engineering Consultants

The purpose of the Highway-Rail Crossing Handbook, 3rd Edition is an information resource developed to provide a unified reference document on prevalent and best practices as well as adopted standards relative to highway-rail grade crossings.


posted Feb 11, 2022

Remembering Kay Lloyd

Former American Trails Board Member Kay Lloyd passed away in January 2022.


posted Feb 11, 2022

The Trail Access Project Removes Barriers to the Outdoors

Their goal is to facilitate the removal of barriers to recreational trail usage through providing information, increasing accessible features, and supporting park managers in making changes.


posted Feb 10, 2022

2021 NRT Photo Contest Winners Announced

by American Trails Staff

The results are in! Here are our picks from the 466 photos submitted for the 2021 photo contest.


posted Feb 1, 2022

2021 Recreational Trails Program Annual Report

by Federal Highway Administration

A report on the use and benefits of Federal Recreational Trails Program funds across the United States.


posted Jan 25, 2022

Deciding on Trails: 7 Practices of Healthy Trail Towns

by Jim Schmid

A book review of Amy Camp's 2020 book of ideas to help fulfill dreams of developing a trail town program.


posted Jan 14, 2022

Choosing the Right Tools for Building Trails

by Tools for Trails

Tools for Trails discusses the importance of the right tools for every job.