1,580 views • posted 03/16/2018 • updated 09/20/2023
From Trail Towns: Capturing Trail-Based Tourism, by Allegheny Trail Alliance (2005)
Enhancing communities to benefit more from trail tourism along the Great Allegheny Passage in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
The guide covers many aspects of creating towns that are appealing to trail tourists:
"Recreational use of rivers and trails can bring new visitors to nearby communities. This guide is designed to help leaders in these communities, these 'Trail Towns,' take advantage of the economic opportunity that rides or walks into town. It will help you transform your town into a more inviting and memorable tourist destination, and in the process, make your town a better place for your own residents to live, work and play."
A “Trail Town” is a destination along a long-distance trail. Whether on a rail trail, towpath, water trail, or hiking trail—trail users can venture off the trail to enjoy the scen- ery, services, and heritage of the nearby community with its own character and charm. It is a safe place where both town residents and trail users can walk, find the goods and services they need, and easily access both trail and town by foot or vehicle. In such a town, the trail is an integral and important part of the community.
A Trail Town is a vibrant place where people come together. It may have a bike shop, an ice cream parlor, casual restaurants, a grocery store, and quaint local shops.
It has wide sidewalks, clean streets, bike racks, and benches at convenient locations. It has places to rest for the night. It generously meets the needs of both the trail users and the town residents. A Trail Town is a friendly place that encourages trail users to visit and welcomes them with warm hospitality.
Trail Towns are not stand-alone communities; they are linked by the trail corridor. Trail users may be passing through a town on a day trip or long-distance trek, or may drive to a community and park to access a river or trail.
Trail users want to explore interesting places in their travels and will need services that your town can provide. Basic elements of a Trail Town strategy include:
Any trail, long or short, is a valuable asset to a community. It provides free recreation for people of all ages and fitness levels, and offers opportunities to study nature or local history. This guide is oriented to towns that connect to long-distance trails, ones that attract travelers from outside the local community and are not used solely by nearby residents. Studies show that the longer a trail is, the farther people will travel to visit it, the longer they will stay, and the more money they will spend. A day-tripper will spend four times as much as a local user will spend, and an overnight visitor will spend twice the amount that a day-tripper will spend.
Attached document published September 2015
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