About RTC
Learn about Rails to Trails Conservancy, the nation’s largest trails organization.
Photo by Side A Photography
RTC’s Mission
At Rails to Trails Conservancy, we are building a nation connected by trails. We reimagine public spaces to create safe ways for everyone to walk, bike and be active outdoors.
Since 1986, Rails to Trails Conservancy has stood at the forefront of America’s efforts to make it safer and easier to walk, bike and be active outside—in every state, in every county and in every neighborhood. With more than 42,500 miles of multiuse trails on the ground nationwide, and more than 150 trail networks in development reaching into every single state, people in all types of communities now rely on this infrastructure. Trails create space for us to move our bodies, build economic opportunity and navigate our communities. They’re essential for our health, transportation choice and quality of life.
With more than 1 million grassroots supporters, 25,000+ miles of rail-trails on the ground nationwide and more than 9,000 miles of rail-trails ready to be built, our focus is on linking these corridors—creating trail networks that connect people and places, bringing transformative benefits to communities all across the country. Our flagship initiatives—the Great American Rail-Trail®, TrailNation™ and TrailLink.com™—bring that strategy to life, connecting millions of people by trail.
The Joyful Transformation of the American Landscape
In the early 1980s, a series of events would make possible a different kind of future for America—one where people can safely walk, bike and be active in the places where they live. A future where communities come together outside, close to home, and regional economies thrive because of the trails that serve them.
In February of 1986, Rails to Trails Conservancy opened its doors. Our founding staff brought innovation, expertise and grit to deliver a future where trails connect everyone, everywhere. Building on a new legal basis and a groundswell of demand from people in communities nationwide, RTC saw the incredible potential to preserve the country’s disused railroad lines for a different purpose.
Since then, we’ve made possible 42,500+ miles of multiuse trails, and hundreds of developing trail networks that reach people in every single state. For 40 years, RTC has worked tirelessly alongside so many of you to unlock the joy and impact that trails uniquely deliver to the nation.
Explore that legacy at the foundation of our work to build a nation connected by trails.
Quick Links:
“I see more than a day outside. I see myself connecting with nature and feeling at ease. I feel my body getting stronger and reaching new goals. And I will continue to take up space outside especially on trails and bring others along with me!”
RTC’s Vision
A nation where trails connect everyone, everywhere.
Here’s how we’re turning vision into reality.
WE ADVOCATE …
In the early days of the trails movement, RTC knew that its success was hinged on local leadership and public investment. Only with champions and funding at the local, state and federal levels would the spark that ignited the trails movement catch on nationwide. That strategy has proven itself time and again, back to RTC’s leadership in advocating for Congress to pass the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991—which unlocked federal transportation investment in trails, walking and biking—to today’s robust strategy to direct dedicated public funds at the local, state and federal levels to create, connect and maintain the nation’s trails. Since ISTEA was introduced in 1991, more than $25 billion in federal funding via the legacy Transportation Alternatives (TA) program and Recreational Trails Program (RTP) has been provided to the states to build trails and other walking and biking infrastructure. These programs have supported more than 43,000 projects.
WE MOBILIZE …
people across the United States to advocate for safe walking and biking infrastructure in their communities and beyond. In FY 2023, supporters sent more than 20,000 messages to federal decision-makers in support of trails and active transportation.
WE COLLABORATE …
Celebrate Trails Day—an annual event on the fourth Saturday of April—makes clear the impact of connected walking and biking infrastructure in America’s small towns, suburbs and cities alike. In 2013, RTC launched its first Celebrate Trails Day, with just a few dozen events. Since then, we’ve grown to participation in all 50 states. Since 2013, we have engaged 130,000 participants at 1,300 events with 1,000 partners.
WE CONNECT …
Rails to Trails Conservancy’s TrailNation™ initiative brings to life our vision of trails at the heart of healthy, thriving communities—showcasing the impact of trail networks and redefining how we create them. Since the launch of our first TrailNation project in 2013, our portfolio has grown to 10 regional projects plus the cross-country Great American Rail-Trail® connecting nearly 12,000 miles of trails across neighborhood, city, county and state lines. Ultimately, our regional projects will serve nearly 35 million people living within 2 miles of a network, and the Great American will serve an estimated 50 million people within 50 miles of the route.
Through these models for the country in collaboration with 300+ partners, as well as the TrailNation Collaborative and TrailNation Playbook, we’re moving the needle, accelerating trail development and transforming the American landscape.
WE SUPPORT OUR NATIONAL TRAIL COMMUNITY …
RTC has distributed more than $3.7 million in grants since 2008, helping communities in nearly every state address missing links in their trail networks and maximize their impact. Thus far, 280+ organizations—including local and national nonprofits and public agencies—have benefited from the program.
In 2025, RTC awarded $398,000 in funding to 40 community organizations and public agencies working to increase connectivity and access in rural, suburban and urban communities—creating more safe access to more trails for more people in America.
WE PROTECT TRAILS …
RTC has led a 40-year effort to shape the nation’s legal framework around rail-trails and defend them in the courts. Since 1986, we’ve been involved in 60+ legal cases, including landmark state and federal cases that have laid the groundwork for the movement—with a focus on establishing and protecting the legal and policy framework facilitating rail-trail conversions, particularly the federal railbanking law.
The statute to date has helped make an estimated 273 rail-trails totaling nearly 4,800 miles of railbanked trail possible since 1983.
WE ELEVATE …
the transformative power of trails, building demand for this infrastructure and encouraging people to make trails part of their everyday lives. In 2025, We connected millions of people to trails via TrailLink™, RTC’s trail-finder platform, and engaged millions more in loving and supporting trails via our national storytelling and engagement campaigns like #CelebrateTrails and #TrailMoments.
“From Rails to Trails” Documentary
A new PBS documentary by filmmaker Dan Protess, “From Rails to Trails,” was released on Oct. 15, capturing the passion, protest and progress at the heart of the movement to bring joyous transformation to the American landscape. Read the film review and make a plan to watch on PBS.org, and on public television stations nationwide.
You can make a difference for America’s trails and the incredible joy and impact they deliver—especially now as the federal programs that make this work possible nationwide are under threat. Donate to Rails to Trails Conservancy today.
Donate
Everyone deserves access to safe ways to walk, bike and be active outdoors.
RTC’s Shared Values
At RTC, we believe that everyone has the right to safely walk, bike and be active outside. Our work is guided by our shared values—centered on respect, equity, integrity and the opportunity to unite people around a common appreciation for trails. We are bold. We are inclusive. We are transformative. We are compassionate.
Reconnecting America
At RTC, we believe that every person—regardless of race, gender, geography, income, age, ability, sexual orientation or expression, or other minority status—deserves access to free, accessible and safe places where they can walk, bike and be active. We believe trails have the power to transform communities and create joyful, vibrant public spaces that are equitable and inclusive. Read our Equity Statement.
View Press Room
Photo by Eric Kayne/AP Images
CONTACT US
Rails to Trails Conservancy National Headquarters:
2445 M Street, NW Suite 650
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: 202.331.9696
We want to hear from you!