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Building Trails


Blog
Celebrating 2024’s New Rail-Trails
December 02, 2024
We applaud the new 2024 rail-trails that have made their debuts this year, joining more than 2,400 others already across America.
Ribbon cutting of Iowa's High Trestle Trail to Raccoon River Valley Trail Connector | Photo courtesy of Iowa Bicycle Coalition
Blog
Notice: Upcoming Railroad Abandonment in Pike County, Kentucky
August 06, 2024
On or about July 11, 2024, CSX Transportation filed for the abandonment of 5.1 miles of track in Pike County, Kentucky.
Photo courtesy Getty Images
Blog
Missouri’s Rock Island Trail State Park: Building Miles and Momentum
July 09, 2024
The Katy Trail State Park and Rock Island Trail State Park would form a trail loop of almost 450 miles—something unique to the world.
Groundbreaking in Owensville, Missouri, along the developing Rock Island Trail State Park | Photo courtesy Friends of Rock Island Trail State Park
Blog
American Icon: The Great American Rail-Trail Is on Its Way to Fulfilling a Cross-Country Vision
May 07, 2024
Five years after launch, the Great American Rail-Trail is on its way to fulfilling a cross-country vision. See updates across the route.
Eastern Continental Divide tunnel along the Great Allegheny Passage (gaptrail.org) | Photo courtesy Dave Majors
Blog
Trident Depot Saved by Three Forks Community Encapsulates Region’s Rich History
May 06, 2024
The historic Trident Depot now serves as the Railroad and Trident Heritage Center in neighboring Three Forks, Montana.
Trident Depot exterior | Photo courtesy Three Forks Area Historical Society
Blog
How Council Bluffs Became the Eastern Point of the First Transcontinental Railroad
May 02, 2024
In the 1860s, Council Bluffs became the Eastern Terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad and today is part of Great American Rail-Trail.
1867 Union Pacific advertisement poster | Courtesy Union Pacific Railroad Museum
Blog
Depot in Center Point Is a Trailside Landmark to Iowa Town’s 1914 Awakening
April 30, 2024
Home to a museum that preserves the stories of the eastern Iowa town for which it is named, the Center Point Depot is a key piece of history.
Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern Railway depot along the Iowa's Cedar Valley Nature Trail | Photo by Patrick Travers
Blog
Century-Old Bridge in Brandon Is a Legacy to Iowa’s Railroad Heyday
April 30, 2024
After a 2008 flood along Iowa’s Cedar Valley Nature Trail, only one functional double-arched span bridge created over a century ago remained.
Double arch bridge in Brandon, Iowa | Photo courtesy Black Hawk County Conservation
Blog
Leveraging This Moment for Impact
February 06, 2024
Over the past several years, these are all ways we’ve described the momentum driving the national movement to connect the nation by trail.
Group on trail - Photo courtesy Getty Images
Blog
A Cultural Shift as America’s Trail Networks Take Hold
December 14, 2023
It has been described as a “tipping point,” “critical mass” and “milestone” achievement. Regardless of what it’s called, there’s no doubt that the proliferation of trail networks around the United States is significant.
Chuck Huckelberry Loop | Photo by Gerry Loew, Pima County Communications