Revitalizing rural communities with bike trail tourism
Breathe more life (and funds) into your rural trailside town. Not every community revival looks the same, but this step-by-step guide shares all the secrets we've learned in our 10+ years of successful Trail Town development. We've built the framework. You just need to pedal it forward.
We know this works... because we’ve done it.
Tourism potential was rich, but untapped on the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP). The 150-mile trail meets the already popular 185-mile C&O Canal Towpath, which continues to Washington, D.C.
In 2007, The Progress Fund started working to plug the GAP’s rural communities into the economic opportunity the trail created.
In its pioneering 10 years, The Trail Town Program® has become a model for trail community revitalization. Building on the same model, we’ve grown economies on other trails, too. Every trail and every town needs a personal touch, but with these ideals as a backbone, we’ve set towns all across our region on the path to prosperity.
Published June 30, 2015
There aren’t cash registers on the trail. So if you want cyclists to boost your local economy, you have to tap your town into that opportunity— actively. Pedal your whole community forward by transforming into a bike-friendly destination where people want to stay, explore and spend.
Our Trail Town Program®, created by The Progress Fund, was the first to test this idea. And we’ve proven it works, multiplying the economic impact along the Great Allegheny Passage over 10+ years.
We’re the longest-running, most successful Trail Town revitalization project. Follow our lead.
This 1997 paper estimates the value of a relatively new form of recreation: mountain biking. Its popularity has resulted in many documented conflicts, and its value must be estimated so an informed decision regarding trail allocation can be made. A travel cost model (TCM) is used to estimate the economic benefits, measured by consumer surplus, to the users of mountain bike trails near Moab, Utah.
Adapting to the New Economy: The Impacts of Mountain Bike Tourism in Oakridge, Oregon
Oakridge provides but one example of a rural community experiencing economic and social decline.
Economic & Health Benefits of Bicycling in Iowa
This study identifies the economic and health impacts of bicycling in Iowa.
Assessment of the Effects of Mountain Biking
The purpose of this co-learning plan was to identify the relationships that have added to the development of the sport of mountain biking as an ecotourism economy in the Marquette area.
