published Feb 2015
by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC)
The 24-mile Three Rivers Heritage Trail extends along the banks of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers in one of America's most storied cities, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
published Jan 2015
During the period August 2012 through November 2012, the University of Idaho, in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR), surveyed Idaho’s registered off-highway-vehicle (OHV) owners. The goal of the survey was to determine the economic importance of OHV use in Idaho during the previous 12 months. The survey sample was drawn from IDPR-registered OHV owners. OHV activities not related to recreation (e.g., work) and out-of-state visitors could not be sampled. Trips and expenditures for OHV recreation in Idaho would be higher if nonresident OHV recreation could be estimated.
published Jul 2014
The analysis indicates that the nearly $1.7 million in spending conducted by the Hatfield-McCoy Trails for day-to-day operations generated an additional $1.6 million in economic activity within the State, for a total operational impact of $3.3 million. Even more notably, the Hatfield-McCoy Trails bring non-local visitors to the area whose spending is estimated to generate an additional $19 million in economic activity in West Virginia. Together, the total estimated economic impact of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails is more than $22 million.
published Jul 2014
by Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University of Montana
The Bureau of Business and Economic Research’s most recent surveys suggest that about 8 percent of the state's households include snowmobile recreationists. Nearly always, the whole family participates. With an average household size of about 2.5, perhaps as many as 100,000 Montanans participate in the sport each winter.
published Jul 2014
An assessment and user profile of New York's longest multi-use trail
published Jul 2014
Urban river parkways may particularly benefit health in urban environments where access to open spaces is limited and adverse health effects such as obesity and depression are prevalent.
published Jun 2014
Off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation in Idaho is big business. Idaho OHV enthusiasts took close to 1 million recreation trips in Idaho during 2012 and spent about $434 million – $186 million on OHV recreation trips and $248 million on OHV capital expenditures such as the vehicles themselves.
published Jun 2014
Oakridge provides but one example of a rural community experiencing economic and social decline.
published Apr 2014
The purpose was to examine 9 adult activity settings in 25 community parks to determine the most and least frequently used by gender, physical-activity (PA) intensity, and ethnicity.
published Mar 2014
by Federal Highway Administration
A report on the use and benefits of Federal Recreational Trails Program funds across the United States.
published Mar 2014
Recreational trails and rivers can really help boost a community’s tourism traffic. This guide is designed to help leaders of these Trail Towns take advantage of the economic opportunity brought by the attraction of trails and rivers. It will help you transform your town into a more inviting and memorable tourist destination as well as a better place for residents to live, work and play. The elements in this guide are only suggestions. Feel free to modify or adapt these ideas in Assessments I & II to best suit your town. After all, your approach should be as unique as your community.
published Jan 2014
Water trails are a unique form of recreation – in its simplest form it consists of floating with minor balance and navigation. However, the ability to reach the water’s edge is probably one of the largest obstacles to participation.
