USING TRAILS FOR DISASTER MITIGATION | EUROPE’S CULTURAL TRAIL HUBS | THE GREAT FIRE OF 1910
The Great Connector How the 45-Year-Old Greenbrier River Trail Has Sparked Connections and Transformed Communities in Rural West Virginia
POWERED BY RAILS TO TRAILS CONSERVANCY
FROM OUR COMMUNITY
HOW TRAILS CONNECT US
I SUPPORT RTC
FROM #TEAMRTC MY CELEBRATE TRAILS DAY Cas Marburger Director of Communications
Tami now lives in eastern Massachu- setts, and I live in southern Connecticut. Both of us are still active equestrians, musicians and bicyclists—the same commonalities which drew us together when we were middle and high school kids. When time allows, we get together with our bikes and enjoy rail-trails such as Rhode Island’s East Bay Bike Path and Connecticut’s Hop River State Park Trail and the Vernon Rails-to-Trails to name a few. I love the Vernon Rails-to-Trails (rtc.li/ vernon-rails-to-trails)—the one on the cover of RTC’s Southern New England guidebook! The trail is very well graded, and we know how rough it was in the ‘70s. We also enjoy seeing the old things that we remember, such as my friend’s childhood home and the pre-Civil War keystone arch tunnel that goes under the rail-trail. MY FAVORITE RAIL-TRAIL
Each issue we highlight a member or special partner in our national trail community. Special thanks to Carrie Wind for supporting America’s trails!
I’m collecting photos of great trail activity across state lines— from the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge connecting Nebraska and Iowa, to the
Pennsy Greenway between Illinois and Indiana. On Celebrate Trails Day, I added to the list, walking from Philadelphia to Camden, New Jersey, on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge Pedestrian Walkway— part of the Circuit Trails network (railstotrails.org/circuit). I was joined by a brave crew who embraced damp weather and wind in the name of celebration and education. We learned about the advocacy work that en- sured the walkway is accessible to all, the bridge’s role in connecting neighborhoods and parks, and the need for continued federal funding to support these impact- ful and iconic projects. What other great trails cross state lines? Accepting suggestions (cas@railstotrails.org)!
CARRIE WIND Killingworth, Connecticut
I am now a retired teacher after 36 years of serving as a middle school band director. For fun, I play three different instruments with three different groups ... for tips and free beer in some cases! WHAT I DO
HOW I BELIEVE TRAILS IMPACT COMMUNITIES
WHY I STARTED USING TRAILS
These trails give users a safe space to enjoy nature and friends, and the freedom to explore new and old surroundings. We never dreamed our old railroad beds would serve us so well much later in our lives!
My friend Tami and I used the decommissioned railroad tracks when we were in middle school to walk, explore and ride horses, which gave us so much freedom! We didn’t have to worry about traffic, glass on the road or intersections—we just rode. Now, 50 years later, we still get together and ride our bikes and sometimes our horses on the same trails, but the tracks have been removed, allowing for a smooth ride and the same freedoms! I grew up taking care of a professional couple’s farm that had horses and ponies. In exchange, we could ride them after school. That farm bordered the tracks, so we had the good fortune to use them to access the trails that were in other parts of our town. MY EARLY EQUESTRIAN EXPERIENCES
FEATURED LETTER TO THE EDITOR IN MASSACHUSETTS
WHY I SUPPORT RTC
Thank you for writing this outstanding arti- cle on the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail [in Connecticut]. The article unfortunately does not list any of the local names [of trails in Massachusetts]—the Southwick Rail Trail (Southwick), the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail (Westfield), the proposed Southamp- ton Greenway (Southampton), the Manhan Rail Trail (Easthampton) and a portion of the Northampton Rail Trail System to the Mass Central Rail Trail. There is an ongoing effort by the New Haven & Northampton Greenway Alliance … to promote all the trails from Northampton to New Haven under the name “New Haven & Northampton Canal Greenway.” This also includes the overlapping portion of the East Coast Greenway. I hope you will consider making such an update. Ben Bayes Newton, Massachusetts From the Editor: Thank you, Ben. We appreciate the clarification and update!
To say thank you to all those who had the vision and the project dedication to make rail-trails possible, and gave countless hours of work to make these old railways have meaning to us once again! The trails are such that people of all ages and generations can use them. It’s fun to see kids and grandparents enjoying the trails as we ride our bikes or horses past them.
PHOTOS: (Top) Carrie and her friend Tami during a bike ride; (bottom) friends Carrie and Tami during an equestrian ride | Courtesy Carrie Wind (2).
Rails to Trails MAGAZINE | SPRING/SUMMER 2025
COVER STORY
The Great Connector: West Virginia’s Greenbrier River Trail
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Created by Gov. Jay Rockefeller in 1980 and featuring 35 bridges, tunnels and stunning rural backdrops, the Greenbrier River Trail has been forging natural connections and spurring outdoor tourism in the Allegheny Highlands for 45 years and counting. By Ashley Stimpson
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PROFILE: INDIANA BICYCLING ADVOCATE ROBERT ORDWAY
FROM RECOVERY TO RESILIENCE
THE BIG BURN
BY SCOTT STARK, WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BY AMY KAPP
BY AMY KAPP
BY CORY MATTESON
In this History Along the Great American Rail-Trail® article, we explore the Great Fire of 1910 that ravaged parts of northern Idaho and western Montana, significantly damaged the town of Wallace and impacted the future of the National Forest Service.
Rails to Trails chatted with bicycling advocate Robert Ordway on his recent 825-mile bike ride between Washington, D.C., and Indiana to raise money for MLS research, and why he feels trails and biking are impactful to people’s lives.
The United States recorded 27 natural disasters at the billion- dollar loss level in 2024. In this feature, we take a look at how trail communities are planning for and responding to these events with an eye on resiliency and the future.
Departments
ON THE COVER: West Virginia’s Greenbrier River Trail in Greenbrier County Photo courtesy West Virginia Department of Tourism
Left // I Support Rails to Trails Conservancy Carrie Wind (Connecticut) Left // From #TeamRTC/Featured Letter to the Editor 02 // Point of View 03 // RTC Quarterly Report 04 // Best Of Cultural Walking and Biking Hubs in European Capitals 06 // Emerging Rail-Trails Indiana’s Monon South Trail 25 // A View From … North Alabama’s Trails 28 // Trailside A Taste of the Great American Rail-Trail 30 // Destination Four Midwest Vacation-Worthy Rail-Trail Places Inside Back Cover // Featured Map West Virginia’s Greenbrier River Trail
PHOTOS: Counterclockwise, from top: Marlyn McClendon, courtesy Experience Greenbrier Valley; courtesy University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives; courtesy Robert Ordway; Eric Oberg. 1
POINT OF VIEW
Treasured Times on the Trail
Rails to Trails is the magazine of Rails to Trails Conservancy (RTC), a nonprofit organization
dedicated to creating a future where everyone has safe spaces to walk, bike and be active outdoors. RTC was incorporated in 1985 as a nonprofit charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is a publicly supported organization as defined in Sections 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) and 509(a)(1). A copy of the current financial statement, or annual report, and state registration filed by RTC may be obtained by contacting RTC at the address listed below. Donations to RTC are tax-deductible. Rails to Trails is a benefit of membership in RTC. Regular membership is $18 a year, $5 of which supports the magazine. Members also receive discounts on RTC gifts and publications. Rails to Trails is published four times a year—three in print, one digital—by RTC. Copyright 2025 Rails to Trails Conservancy. ISSN 1523-4126. Printed in the U.S.A.
A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
With summertime comes a sense of whimsy—planning adventures near and far and unlocking a bit of the kid who lives in each of us. When I talk with our partners, supporters and the people I meet out on the trail, I often hear first of their treasured times there. While we talk about the nature and experiences on the trail, most often our conversation ends with tips and notes about the best places to eat, the local businesses that made us feel at home, and the incredible vibes of the towns and cities we visited, where quality of life is clearly valued. As federal leaders continue to scrutinize infrastructure spending, our team is working around the clock to ensure that the administration, congressional leaders, and state and local officials all understand the numerous benefits of trails—from the economy, to our health and well-being, to the safety of our families. The impact of this essential infrastructure is far-reaching. In West Virginia, that reality comes to life on the 45-year-old Greenbrier River Trail (cover story, p. 8). Organizers say the trail was pivotal in shaping the region’s culture—bringing people outdoors who previously didn’t have space to walk and bike safely. That’s when residents became friends, and neighbors became family. Nancy Harris of the Greenbrier River Trail Association put it well. “Trails in general, they connect people, unite people, and remind them of what they have in common. Politics, differences—all that stuff just falls by the wayside,” she said. The same is true in North Alabama, where our team had the privilege of spending a week in April promoting the Year of Alabama Trails campaign leading into Celebrate Trails Day. We did more than visit the trails there; we had the chance to engage with the communities rallying behind them. And while Calhoun and Cleburne counties’ Chief Ladiga Trail and Limestone County’s Richard Martin Trail were certainly highlights of our time on the ground (A View From …, p. 25), what shines as bright is the collective energy there to connect trails across Alabama. This energy is transcending state lines as the entire country works to connect trail networks that serve rural, suburban and urban communities alike. Our trails bring out the best in us. They’re where we connect with the depths of America’s shared histories and cultures. And nothing tells those stories better than the foods that fuel us on the trail. Like Appalachia’s pepperoni roll, a favorite of coal miners dating back to the early 1900s, or Nebraska’s Runza sandwich, which was first brought over from Germany in the 1860s and popularized in 1949 (Trailside, p. 28). When we get to know each other and
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Edward Chang, Chair; Noel Kegel, Vice Chair; Doug Monieson, Treasurer; Ayesha McGowan, Secretary; Ajoa Abrokwa; Balaji Bondili; James Brainard, Jon Cofsky; Mark A. Filippell,
PRESIDENT Ryan Chao
MAGAZINE STAFF VP OF COMMUNICATIONS Brandi Horton EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Amy Kapp SENIOR EDITOR Laura Stark CONTRIBUTOR Cory Matteson COPY EDITOR Sharon Congdon DESIGN/ PRODUCTION Outright; Kathy Keller
J.D.; Catharine Sloss Jones; M.
Katherine Kraft, Ph.D.; Elizabeth Lynn; Andy McCormick; Tom Petri; Marvin Plakut; Juliette Rizzo; Daniel A. Rodríguez, Ph.D.; James F. Sallis, Ph.D.
RAILS TO TRAILS CONSERVANCY
HEADQUARTERS 2445 M St., NW, Suite 650
Washington, DC 20037 PHONE 202.331.9696 EMAIL magazine@railstotrails.org
the places we hold dear on the trail, new connections are forged. We can unite around a common vision—that trails and connected trail networks are essential to the future we envision for our communities and our country.
WEBSITES railstotrails.org, TrailLink.com MIDWEST Yellow Springs, OH 614.837.6782 midwest@railstotrails.org NORTHEAST Philadelphia, PA 267.332.4267 northeast@railstotrails.org WESTERN Oakland, CA 510.992.4662 western@railstotrails.org FLORIDA Tallahassee, FL 866.202.9788 rtcflorida@railstotrails.org BALTIMORE Baltimore, MD 410.207.2445 MILWAUKEE Milwaukee, WI 414.688.4367
®
give.org
With gratitude,
Ryan Chao, President Rails to Trails Conservancy
PHOTO: Celebrate Trails Day 2025 on the Chief Ladiga Trail in Alabama | Drew Dupuy.
POSTMASTER SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO info@railstotrails.org
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RTC QUARTERLY REPORT
What We’ve Been Up To
Recreational Trail grand opening in Jefferson County, Ohio, sponsored by the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission. Local partners and RTC celebrated the formal completion and launch of the trail, which features abundant native plants and wildlife, as well as the sandstone Lincoln Bridge, built by an order from President Lincoln. The trail is momentously the first piece of trail in Jefferson County to be completed along the larger 3,700-mile developing route of the Great American Rail-Trail® connecting Washington, D.C., and Washington State. Learn more about the Hellbender Preserve: rtc.li/ hellbender-preserve-trail . Learn more about the Great American Rail- Trail: greatamericanrailtrail.org .
importance of a strong federal partnership in building the nation’s active transportation system and the value it has in delivering outcomes prioritized by the USDOT. “More than half of Americans live in a county where trail and active transportation networks are being developed. These investments are vital to the economic development and mobility plans of hundreds of regions nationwide,” said Kevin Mills, RTC’s vice president of policy. “The projects that this funding supports are saving lives while creating new jobs and delivering the quality of life that Americans deserve.” Learn more and read the letter: rtc.li/USDOT-sign-on-april25 . Celebrate Trails Day 2025: On April 26, thousands of people across America demonstrated the impact of trails during the nation’s annual Celebrate Trails Day, which included more than 275 events held by hundreds of partners and supported by more than 15 official sponsors. The events focused on showcasing the benefits trails deliver to communities—inspiring more people to make trails, walking and bicycling part of their everyday lives, while sending a clear message to decision- makers that the more than 42,000 miles of multiuse trails and over 150 networks, and growing, are essential infrastructure across the country. Of note during Celebrate Trails Day was the Hellbender Preserve and
Calling for Federal Investment in Trails: As the Trump administration assesses the range of discretionary grants awarded under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), RTC has identified $3 billion in funding for active transportation projects currently under review— investments that would benefit rural, suburban and urban areas in all 50 states. In April, RTC issued a letter, signed by a bipartisan group of more than 175 local officials and business leaders from 35 states and Washington, D.C., calling on U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) leadership to protect federal investments in trails, walking and bicycling. The letter urges the agency to continue to obligate funding for awards previously announced under a collection of programs that have significantly impacted the economic health and safety of thousands of communities, including the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program (RAISE); Safe Streets and Roads for All program (SS4A); Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program; Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program; and Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program. The letter also reinforces the
Local Leaders Across America Call for Continued Federal Investment in Trails, Walking and Biking rtc.li/USDOT-sign-on-april25
Thousands Converge Across US on Celebrate Trails Day to Demonstrate the Impact of Trails on Communities railstotrails.org/celebratetrails
Jefferson County, Ohio, Celebrates Its First Completed Section of the Great American Rail-Trail rtc.li/hellbender-preserve-trail
PHOTOS: Counterclockwise, from left: Celebrate Trails Day 2025 in Union County, New Jersey | Upendra Sapkota; Celebrate Trails Day 2025 on the Hellbender Preserve and Recreational Trail in Jefferson County, Ohio | Eric Oberg; Washington State’s Snoqualmie Valley Trail | Eli Brownell, courtesy King County Parks.
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Cultural Walking & Biking Hubs IN EUROPEAN CAPITALS BEST OF
By Amy Kapp
Across “The Continent,” many cities are designed with people—and not just automobiles—in mind, making it easy to navigate by foot or bike, and allowing for the perfect blend of cultural immersion and active transportation. Here are five of these standout destinations, chosen from my travels in recent (and not so recent) times. Happy exploring and bon voyage !
PHOTOS: This page, from left: Joan Brebo, creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en; Amy Kapp. Opposite page, from top: Orlando Contreras López, by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en; Chris Bernhardt; Amy Kapp.
About a decade ago, my husband and I visited San Sebastián, the capital of the small Basque province of Guipúzcoa. Famous for its beautiful beaches and tasty pintxos—the Basque version of tapas—San Sebastián also boasts more than 18 miles of designated bike lanes, called bidegorris , or “red roads,” and some 48 miles total of “separate and safe bike lanes,” making it convenient to get around without a car (rtc.li/san-sebastian-bike). Located in the city’s center is the internationally renowned La Concha Bay Beach, which stretches for about 1.5 miles between Mount Urgull in the northeast and Mount Igeldo in the west. Named for its shell-like shape when viewed from above, the beach is bordered by a paved promenade as well as a section of the city’s bike network, creating, as I’d find out, an ideal spot to get in some exercise while taking in expansive waterside views. The route begins at the City Hall building, a stunning structure built in 1887 in the French Second Empire ar- chitectural style. Upon reaching Ondaretta Beach, a short, paved pedestrian walkway leads to a payoff: El Peine del Viento, or “The Comb of the Wind,” a 1977 collaborative work by artist Eduardo Chillida and architect Luis Peña Ganchegui. A set of three massive comb-like sculptures, the installation is incorporated into the mountain land- scape, paying homage to the past, the present and the future … the wind, the sea and the horizon. SAN SEBASTIÁN, SPAIN Bidegorris + The Concha Promenade
Reykjavík is a popular destination for people who love the outdoors, with its proximity to the lagoons, waterfalls, glaciers and volcanic activity Iceland is famous for, as well as its bustling, pedestrian-friendly downtown. Weaving through the capital is an intricate set of walking paths and bike lanes (cyclingiceland.is/en); in particular, Reykjavík’s northwestern boundary is encased by ocean and skirted by a trail that travels the coastline and connects into the city’s inland neighborhoods. As part of this coastal trail, you’ll find the 3-mile-ish Sculpture and Shore Walk (rtc.li/sculpture-shore-walk) highlighting various cultural institutions and works of art. During my last visit in 2024, I started this route at the Harpa Concert Hall to get on the separated trail heading southeast. The route quickly passes the stainless steel “Sun Voyager,” a Reykjavík art monument by Jón Gunnar Árnason commemorating the city’s 200th anniversary in 1990. It then makes its way by a series of additional highlights, including “The Cairn,” a bronze lava rock piece by artist Jóhann Eyfells; “Shore Piece,” a waterside stone arrangement by Sigurður Guðmundsson; and “Partnership” by Pétur Bjarnason, celebrating 50 years of diplomacy between Iceland and the United States. The route also passes Höfði Lighthouse, the Recycled House (made from recycled materials, as the name implies) and the Sigurjón Ólafsson Museum. REYKJAVÍK, ICELAND Coastal Trail + Sculpture and Shore Walk
Rails to Trails MAGAZINE | SPRING/SUMMER 2025
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BEST OF
SPOTLIGHT: COPENHAGEN, DENMARK’S CIRKELBROEN
Copenhagen is often called the most bike-friendly capital in the world, with Copenhageners cycling around 895,000 miles daily (rtc.li/copenhagen-biking). At the mouth of Christianshavns Canal is the Cirkelbroen bike and pedestrian bridge by Olafur Eliasson, which has become a star piece of infrastructure—used by some 5,000 people daily—since its opening in 2015. The 130-foot-long structure invokes a vibe of sailing ships from days past and is zigzagged to encourage bicyclists to slow down and enjoy the atmosphere.
VADUZ, LIECHTENSTEIN Liechtenstein Trail + Old Rhine Bridge
Liechtenstein is a small principality, roughly the size of Washington, D.C., but there is much to appeal to trail enthusiasts and cultural thrill-seekers. In Vaduz, the capital, a popular attraction for both tourism and active transportation is the Alte Rheinbrücke, or Old Rhine Bridge, where you can simultaneously stand in both Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as I found out in 2023. The site is also special for other reasons, being a crossroads for several long-distance, themed biking routes as well as the larger 48-mile Liechtenstein Trail that passes through all 11 of the principality’s municipalities (rtc.li/le-bike-tours or tourismus.li/en/the-liechtenstein-trail). Vaduz’ main thoroughfare is located along the trail as well. From the bridge, head east on the Zollstrasse and then take the trail for less than a half mile to the main drag and the landmark Kathedrale St. Florin, a neo-Gothic church built in 1874. Head north on the Äeulestrasse to reach other sites such as the Josef Gabriel von Rheinberger statue and Rheinbergerhaus, as well as museums and restaurants—I’d recommend the Käsknöpfle (cheese noodles)! Also, be sure to stop at the visitors center to get your Liechtenstein passport stamp!
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS Biking Capital + Cultural Capital
It’s with admiration that I mention Amsterdam, where—during my visit in 2019—I often observed that bike traffic was heavier than car traffic, during the day and at night. Amsterdam made a push in the 1970s to reduce bike and pedestrian fatalities, and today it’s one of Europe’s most bike-friendly cities with an estimated 200+ miles of dedicated bike lanes. Iamsterdam.com promotes a variety of walking and “Cycleseeing” routes, which connect the heart of Amsterdam to places farther afield and feature a mix of history, nature and wildlife, art, food and architecture (rtc.li/amsterdam-walk-bike or bikingamsterdam.com). In particular, the 27-mile De Amstel (river tour) and 32-mile Castles & Gardens routes both pass within less than a mile of Oosterpark (1092 AT Amsterdam), the city’s first large-scale municipal park. Laid out in 1891, Oosterpark features a variety of amenities, gardens, wide walking paths and a national monument commemorating the Netherlands’ abolition of slavery in 1863. Pro tip: Get your physical activity in and then find a good restaurant for an Indonesian rijsttafel !
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In Indiana’s rural south, in the community of Borden—which sits closer to Louisville, Kentucky, than Indianapolis—a summer blockbuster came in the form of a trail ground- breaking last July. The town of near- ly 800 welcomed more than 100 peo- ple at an event celebrating the start of the Monon South Trail, planned to span 62.3 miles and bring with it new economic opportunities and fresh connections among eight com- munities and four counties. “There’s so much to be discovered in each of these communities,” said Ron Taylor, a partner and principal at Taylor Siefker Williams Design Group, the trail’s designer. “There are lots of unique things that these communities can play up that are going to start putting their town on the map.” By the end of 2024, a 1.3- mile stretch had been completed in Orleans, followed in January by another 2.4 miles in Mitchell, which anchors the northwestern end of the trail. Borden, at the trail’s southeastern end, as well as a handful of other communities in the middle, will see their sections open later this year—20 miles in 2025 all told. Many of these communities owe their existence to the Monon Railroad (also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad) that began operating here in the 1850s. Don Caudell, Mitchell’s mayor, used to walk the high school track in town every morning before work. Now, he enjoys using the new stretch of trail, which passes through downtown near the aptly named Railroad Café and Lounge and the county’s tourism center, along with residential neighborhoods. Since its opening, he said the trail is bringing the community together, and he envisions it
Indiana’s Monon South Trail The 62-mile trail project is boosting a regional rebirth in southern Indiana.
By Erica Sweeney
Rails to Trails MAGAZINE | SPRING/SUMMER 2025
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EMERGING RAIL-TRAILS
it may be due to its Hall of Fame cousin, the Monon Trail running though Indianapolis and its northern suburbs, that shares the same historical rail line.) “There are a lot of community memories about that rail line when it was active,” explained Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius Indiana, a nonprofit economic development organization and partner in the trail’s development. “We’ve got folks who remember the day when passenger rail service still existed in small towns like these.” The rail-trail has been in
“It creates common ground, shared experiences. You can see the possibilities.” — Don Caudell, Mayor of Mitchell, Indiana
PROPOSED TRAIL: Monon South Trail
attracting new businesses as well. “It creates common ground, shared experiences. You can see the possibilities.” Along Orleans’ section, the trailhead is also just a short distance from downtown restaurants and shops, said Robert Henderson Jr., the town’s clerk-treasurer, noting that there’s already a buzz of enthusiasm from locals and an increase of visitors from other areas coming to check out the new trail. “There will be a real boost to the hometown business owners as we move forward, who no doubt will see increased foot traffic,” Henderson said. “There are also expected to be a great deal of opportunities for local entrepreneurs.” In celebration of the trail’s railroad heritage, the trail’s design will incorporate artifacts like signal poles and will include covered seating areas at trailheads that resemble old rail platforms. (And, if the trail’s name sounds familiar, LOCATION: The rail-trail will run from Mitchell to Borden in southern Indiana, connecting eight communities in four counties. USED RAILROAD CORRIDOR: Monon Railroad (also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad) LENGTH: The trail is planned to stretch 62.3 miles; as of spring 2025, 3.7 miles of the route are open in Mitchell and Orleans. SURFACE: Primarily asphalt, with some hard-packed, crushed aggregate sections
and Kentucky. The connection will provide access to vibrant riverside communities and major attractions, like Falls of the Ohio State Park, home to 390-million-year-old fossil beds. Although John Bassett’s home is 30 miles north of the trail, he has hiked the new open sections and looks forward to cycling the entire route once complete. A member of the Bloomington Bicycle Club, he lives about a mile and a half from the old railroad and enjoys the rail- trails in his community. The new pathway, expected to become a regional draw as one of the longest rail-trails in the state, will offer views of Midwestern farmland and dramatic limestone bluffs with deep cuts made for the railroad, as well as access to the nearby state parks and natural areas that line the way. “Rail-trails offer an entire- ly different perspective on cities, towns and the countryside than you get from riding roadways,” enthused Bassett. “The neat thing about the Monon South Trail is that it will be a long trail through a beautiful section of south central Indiana.”
the works since 2018, when the railroad’s owner, CSX
Transportation, railbanked the line. Next Level Trails, the state’s grant program, provided the funding to purchase the rail corridor on behalf of Radius and New Albany for $5.5 million. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) also provided $24 million for the trail’s development, according to Mark Becker, director of the DNR’s Division of Land Acquisition. “There’s a long history of this corridor in the state,” Becker said. “But beyond that, the opportunity to railbank a continuous corridor of that length is fairly unique in Indiana.” Interpretive signage along the way will also highlight the economic importance of agriculture to these communities, noted Taylor. Gathering feedback like this at town hall meetings about the project was a key part of the project’s success. “We would sit down and sort of brainstorm through some things,” he explained. “It was very interactive and very hands-on.” South of Borden, the Monon South Trail is also planned to stretch down to New Albany to meet the Ohio River Greenway (ohiorivergreenway.org), which follows the river separating Indiana
Learn more: mononsouth.com.
PHOTOS: Opposite page: (Top) Groundbreaking for the Monon South Trail in Borden, Indiana; (bottom) community visioning and design workshop for the Monon South Trail | Courtesy Radius Indiana and Taylor Siefker Williams Design Group (2).
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Created with a bill signed by Gov. Jay Rockefeller in 1980, the Greenbrier River Trail has been spurring outdoor and economic connections for the towns of rural West Virginia’s Allegheny Highlands for 45 years and counting. Learn more about the trail at rtc.li/wv-greenbrier-river- trail and greenbrierrivertrail.com. View a map of the trail on the inside back cover. COUNTIES: Greenbrier, Pocahontas LENGTH: 77 miles ENDPOINTS: Cass and Caldwell USES: Walking, biking, horseback riding, fishing, cross-country skiing, mountain biking. Please contact the trail manager to inquire about wheelchair use.
The Great Connector
For 45 years, the Greenbrier River Trail has fostered recreation, relationships and economic revitalization in the Allegheny Highlands of West Virginia.
By Ashley Stimpson
Rails to Trails MAGAZINE | SPRING/SUMMER 2025
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COVER STORY
In June 2016, as a massive thunderstorm system triggered mudslides, rockslides and catastrophic flooding across the mountains of southern West Virginia, Nancy Harris’ thoughts turned to the Greenbrier River Trail (GRT). “My first thought was that it would be wiped out,” Harris said of the trail she has ridden almost every day for the past 30 years. “Then it was: What can I do to help?” Luckily, the trail, while damaged in places, wasn’t wiped out. And, when cleanup began in the region, Harris figured out how to help: by cleaning toilets. “I volunteered to clean the bathrooms along the trail,” Harris told me over coffee at a Marlinton, West Virginia, restaurant a block from the trail. That way, she figured, the tiny West Virginia State Parks maintenance crew—who oversees the entire 77.1-mile rail-trail (rtc.li/wv-greenbrier-river-trail) as well as two other nearby state parks—would be free to do the heavier lifting, repairing washed-out roads and clearing fallen trees. “They were more than glad to be relieved of that.” Harris was given permission to drive the crushed- stone trail, which hues to the emerald-green Greenbrier River as it carves through the verdant spruce forests and golden valleys of the Allegheny Highlands, but the 77-year-old retired vocation rehabilitation counselor was determined to ride. “I put a broom and a Swiffer on the back rack of my bike, carried the toilet paper and the hand sanitizer and the cleaning stuff in a backpack, and just took off!” she said. Sometimes Harris would begin her janitorial duties from her home in Lewisburg, West Virginia, about 5 miles from the trail’s southern terminus; sometimes she would drive to a trailhead farther north and start from there. Either way, each of the trail’s six bathrooms was serviced every week.
PHOTO: The Greenbrier River Trail meanders through 77 miles in Pocahontas County and Greenbrier County (pictured here) in West Virginia. | Courtesy Experience Greenbrier Valley.
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The National Radio Quiet Zone: How to Enjoy the Peace and Quiet—Safely While most trails offer a chance to disconnect from technology for a while, on the Greenbrier River Trail, disconnect you must. That’s because much of its 77.1 miles fall in the National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ), established by the federal government in 1958 to limit interference with the nearby National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Observatory and the National Security Agency’s Sugar Grove facility. Inside the approximately 1,300 acres of the NRQZ, your phone won’t be able to make calls or connect to the internet. Your Bluetooth headphones won’t work either. To be safe, be sure to research your trip ahead of time, bring a fully stocked first-aid kit, and let someone know where and when you’ll be on the trail. It’s worth taking the extra precaution for the peace and quiet you’ll enjoy in one of the few places left in the world where work emails and news alerts can’t find you. Additionally, the Green Bank Observatory (greenbankobservatory.org), about 15 miles from the trail in Marlinton, makes for a great side trip. Here, the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope—the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope—searches the sky to investigate everything from near-Earth asteroids to the environments surrounding super massive black holes. Visitors can check out an exhibit hall, choose from a variety of guided, behind-the-scenes tours or wander the tranquil grounds on their own.
Perhaps more remark- able than this selfless act of volunteerism is Harris’ account of it almost 10 years later: “It was cool! It was very cool!” she said. So cool, in fact, that Harris performed the job for three seasons, gratified to do her part for the trail that she said has provided her with so much—a safe place to exercise, stirring encounters with wildlife and friendships with other trailgoers like Lyn Guy, who joined us for our pre-ride coffee on a mild morning in March. Guy drives 30 miles from her home in Rock Camp, West Virginia, nearly every day to ride the trail. “I feel so good when I go over there,” the 72-year-old former school administrator said. “It’s almost spiritual.” This is the kind of enthusi- asm you hear from people who spend their time on the Greenbrier River Trail. Opened as a recreational multiuse trail in 1980, it is one of the oldest rail-trails in the country and a Rails to Trails Conservancy Hall of Famer (railstotrails.org/ hall-of-fame), as well as one of 52 Millennium Legacy Trails in the United States. Noted for its length and gentle grade, the trail has been attracting locals and visitors alike for 45 years with the promise of space and solitude next to the longest undammed river in the East. In addition to recreational opportunities and stunning scenery for users, the Greenbrier River Trail has also provided a meaningful boost in economic development for the region, drawing new businesses, new residents and countless tourists
The Greenbrier River Trail uses the former corridor of the Greenbrier Division of the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railroad, which opened in 1900 and stretched across Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties. Unlike most C&O rail lines in West Virginia, this one was not built to carry coal, but rather to transport fur and timber from what is today Monongahela National Forest. Soon, sawmills and tanneries popped up along the railroad, and communities next to the tracks filled up with residents. While the timber quickly ran out, the line continued to see use, moving freight and people, especially during World War II’s rationing of gasoline and tires. But over the following three decades, the sound of train whistles faded across the Greenbrier Valley. The last diesel engines ran down the Greenbrier Division Line during the waning days of 1978. That was right around the time Rob Gronan moved to town. “I had just moved to this area for a new job from Columbia, Missouri, and I had been working on what became the Katy Trail there,” said Gronan, referring to the longest continuous rail-trail in the country (rtc.li/katy-trail). “I was kind of despondent over having to leave that effort.” When someone told him that a nearby railbed had just been turned over to the state, Gronan, a retired emergency medicine specialist, dusted off his community organizing skills and fired up his slide projector. “I went around to different groups and talked about the con- cept of rail-trails,” he said. “There weren’t that many at the time.” From Rails to Trail Races to the mountains of southern West Virginia.
PHOTOS: This page: Courtesy Experience Greenbrier Valley. Opposite page: Marlyn McClendon, courtesy Experience Greenbrier Valley.
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GREENBRIER RIVER TRAIL
One of the groups that invited Gronan to speak was a local Rotary Club, where a state senator just happened to be in attendance. Weeks later, Gronan found himself at the West Virginia Statehouse, advocating for a rail-trail in the Greenbrier Valley. “They couldn’t turn it down,” Gronan said. On March 24, 1980, then-West Virginia Gov. Jay Rockefeller signed a bill creating the Greenbrier River Trail State Park. The park runs from the village of Caldwell in the south to the for- mer company town of Cass in the north—where visitors can still enjoy a number of scenic train rides and bunk in a restored company house. Along the way, it passes through or next to five other state parks and state forests. Jody Spencer, the superintendent of nearby Watoga State Park, who oversees the trail, said that it has long been pivotal in a region where views are plentiful, but where safe and accessible rec- reation opportunities are in short supply. “A lot of seniors aren’t com- fortable biking on the road. A lot of young families have young kids who are just learning to bike,” Spencer said. “But, at the same time, if you want a little bit of adventure, you can pack in all 80 miles and rustic camp along the way.” Those looking for a little friendly competition can also enjoy the trail during the Greenbrier River Trail marathon or the Great Greenbrier River Race triathlon (with kayaking instead of swimming), both hosted by the Greenbrier River Trail Association (greenbrierrivertrail.com), which was founded by Gronan in 1979 and now counts Nancy Harris and Lyn Guy among its board members. “Some people are very serious about it, and other people are just having a darn good time,” said
the trail delivers a big economic boost to the region, which has struggled since the mines and mills of the last century were shuttered. Guy said many of her neighbors in nearby Monroe Country drive to the trail regularly to bike, walk or fish, spending their money afterward in shops and restaurants. “I do know for a fact that people move here because of the trail,” Harris added. One of those people is Craig Attkisson, a Richmond, Virginia, landscape contractor who has bikepacked all over the world. “My heart was singing when I first rode the [trail],” the 43-year-old said. “My wife and I loved it so much we bought a cabin in Cass.” “The number of cabins along the trail used as overnight rentals has skyrocketed,” according to Spencer. While the park system doesn’t keep track of trail users, the superintendent said that “businesses along the trail have increased tenfold, and there are more shuttle services than ever. The economic benefit is just tremendous.” During my trip to Marlinton— which thrived during the railroad era with a tannery, two banks, two newspapers and even an opera house—I conducted my own
Harris, who volunteers during both events. But what really stands out to her during race weekends is the size and diversity of the crowd. “I’m always amazed,” she said. “People come from all over the United States to participate.”
Miles of Economic Development
Like the old railroad, the Greenbrier River Trail has brought an influx of people and dollars to the towns that dot the Greenbrier Valley. A 2015 West Virginia University economic impact study estimated that the trail brought in over $5 million in visitor spending that year. But the last time anyone did a detailed study to quantify the true impact was nearly a quarter centu- ry ago, when a Marshall University survey found that, during a 17-day period in October 2000, two-thirds of trail users were high-income visitors from outside West Virginia, spending approximately $82,315 ($167,000 in today’s money) at area hotels, restaurants and shops. While they may not have any recent data to point to, trail advocates like Guy and Harris have plenty of anecdotal evidence that
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produce. It’s even helped her ex- pand her business; she now offers packed lunches—full of locally grown fruits and veggies—to trail users who call ahead. Next door, expansion is top of mind for Scott Guyette, owner of Greenbrier Bikes. This summer, he’s relocating the business to a former grocery store around the block and across from a new trailhead the city is developing that will feature 60 parking spaces, two shelters and a food truck plaza. The move will effectively triple his floor space. Greenbrier Bikes sells and repairs bikes but relies heavily on renting bikes to visitors to the area. “That’s our bread and butter,” he told me. “Without the trail, this business would not be here.” In short, my time in Marlinton revealed how integral the trail is to the economic health of the residents there. But Superintendent Spencer thinks the “true benefit of the trail is so large and varied that it’s hard to grasp the scope of it.” For the well-being of residents, of nearby communities and of locally owned businesses, “those benefits are so big that we may not fully understand them,” he said. “In my mind, it’s underappreciated.” “Trails in general, they connect people, unite people, and remind them of what they have in common. Politics, differences— all that stuff just falls by the wayside.” — Nancy Harris, Greenbrier River Trail Association
Fact: Much of the Greenbrier River Trail is in the National Radio Quiet Zone—a Wi-Fi-free area around the world’s largest radio telescope at Green Bank Observatory. Preplanning is a must for all visitors. For detailed information on waypoints along the trail, including parking, water and restrooms, go to rtc.li/ greenbrier-river-trail on TrailLink.
“That’s our bread and butter. Without the trail, this business would not be here.”
— Scott Guyette, owner of Greenbrier Bikes
informal survey to learn how the Greenbrier River Trail impacts livelihoods in the largest town (at fewer than 1,000 residents, “large” is a relative term) on the trail. “We’re so grateful it exists,” my host at the Moore House Inn told me. In the year since Caley Gonyea and her husband bought the inn, they’ve hosted countless trail users from surrounding states—and farther afield. In fact, Gonyea said, the season’s first guests were bike riders from Alabama. Down the street at the recently opened Dari Land, a server named Patrick took a break from dishing out hamburgers and ice cream to explain that the owners chose this location specifically for its proximity to the Greenbrier River Trail. “We get lots of people coming in off the trail,” he said. So many that the restaurant recently invested in a large bike rack to contend with the constant pileup of bikes out front. At the nearby HandMade WV Market, owner Anne Walker said that the trail provides a “constant flow” of customers to her shop, which sells local art, crafts and
PHOTOS: This page: Greenbrier River Trail in Green- brier County | Courtesy West Virginia Department of Tourism; Greenbrier River Trail in Marlinton, the largest town along the trail | Courtesy Greenbrier River Trail Association; signage along the trail | Courtesy Green- brier River Trail Association. Opposite page: The rural trail is abundant with wildlife. | Courtesy Greenbrier River Trail Association.
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Wisconsin’s Great River State Trail | Photo by TrailLink user dj123_45
Building Bridges The sun was nearly overhead by the time Harris, Guy and I set off for our ride. The duo were eager to show me the attractive signage the Greenbrier River Trail Associa- tion had recently installed along the river. Paid for by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agricul- ture, the interpretive signs detail everything from railroad heritage to the unique geology of the area. The old white “whistle post” mile markers were looking brand- new, too, thanks to volunteers like Guy and Harris, who recently scrubbed their nooks and crannies with toothbrushes. “The [association] are our longtime partners and friends,” Spencer told me later. “We’re proud of the work they do.” That includes, he said, the group’s recently revamped web- site, a project spearheaded by Attkisson, a new member of the association board. “It was the website that I wanted when I bikepacked the trail,” he said, including an interactive map that displays points of interest like campsites, restaurants, bathrooms and bike shops. Attkisson pointed out that because much of the trail is in
the National Radio Quiet Zone—a Wi-Fi-free area around the world’s largest radio telescope at nearby Green Bank Observatory—pre- planning is a must. “You can’t research while you go,” he said. The association’s next project is a big one. As we rode, Harris told me about the herculean effort that has gone into redecking the trail’s 37 bridges. In 2022 and 2023, the group received $ 1,429 ,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s federal Transportation Alternatives grant program, which will cover about 80% of the project. The association has spent the last four years fundraising furiously to cover the rest. As Harris, Guy and I rode over bridge after bridge, it was easy to see why the project is such a priority. “One or two bridges out of service would ruin the whole thing,” Spencer told me. About 10 miles north of Marlinton, we came to our destination: the 511-foot-long Sharps Tunnel, where the air inside still felt like January. Before turning around, we paused to enjoy the warmth of the early- spring sunshine, the rush of the jewel-toned river, a morning spent
with new friends. Standing there, bike balanced on my hip, I could see why people develop such an affinity for this trail. “I think the trail just brings out the positive in people,” Harris said, explaining that during those years when she was cleaning the bathrooms, she was always struck by how respectfully trail users had treated the shared areas, picking up after themselves and others. “Trails in general, they connect people, unite people, and remind them of what they have in common,” she continued. “Politics, differences—all that stuff just falls by the wayside.”
Ashley Stimpson is a Maryland-based freelance journalist who writes about
science, conservation and outdoor adventure.
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The Big Burn
The 1910 Wildfires That Ravaged the American Northwest and Shaped the Forest Service
By Scott Stark With Contributions by Amy Kapp
As summer began, it was evident that trouble was smoldering in the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho’s panhandle. The driest year in memory, the winter’s snowpack had melted early, and life-sustaining spring rains never fell. By August, what should have been swift-running rivers cascading down the northern Rocky Mountains were ghosts of their former selves, and many smaller creeks had simply ceased to exist, vanishing into the parched earth below. By late summer, some 9,000 firefighters were already at work trying to tamp out fires flaring up across millions of acres of kiln-dry forest. The Great Fire of 1910 was nigh. No single ignition source was responsible for what is estimated to be as many as 3,000 individual fires of varying size that merged into a deadly conflagration considered, if not the largest, certainly the most consequential, forest fire in U.S. history. Many flare-ups were sparked
PHOTOS: This page: Bank Street in Wallace, Idaho, in the aftermath of the Big Burn | Courtesy University of Idaho Library Digital Collections, Barnard- Stockbridge Photograph Collection. Opposite page: Forest Fire 1910 Telegram | Courtesy University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives.
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HISTORY ALONG THE GREAT AMERICAN RAIL-TRAIL
of that magnitude. The fledgling service “rounded up whatever men it could … and shipped them into the backcountry,” he said. Presi- dent Taft’s authorization of mili- tary assistance added 4,000 troops to the firefighting efforts, and the inclusion of seven companies from the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Reg- iment—the Buffalo Soldiers—was said to almost double the Black population of Idaho at the time. Forged in Fire The fires of 1910 fundamentally shaped the nascent Forest Service, with “the memory of the fires spliced into its institutional genes,” said Pyne. More than just another natural disaster, “the Big Blowup is the creation story for the American way of wildland firefighting.” Indeed, three months later, an associate district forester named Ferdinand Augustus Silcox wrote that the lesson of the fires was that they were wholly preventable; all it took was more money, more men, more trails, more will. Twenty-five years later as chief of the Forest Service, he was able to put this philosophy into practice, implementing what became known as the 10 a.m. policy: the goal that every fire should be controlled by 10 o’clock the morning after initially being spotted.
A Red Demon From Hell Contemporary accounts confirm the magnitude and destructive power of the event; a forester named Edward Stahl wrote of flames shooting hundreds of feet in the air, “fanned by a tornadic wind so violent that the flames flattened out ahead, swooping to earth in great darting curves, truly a veri- table red demon from hell.” Thick smoke blotted out the sun, leaving the darkened landscape illumi- nated by violently burning trees and wind-powered fireballs that rocketed across canyons to ignite the far side in an instant. “The fire turned trees into weird torches that exploded like Roman candles,” one survivor told a reporter. The Great Fire of 1910—also called the Great Idaho Fire, the Big Blowup and the Big Burn—ravaged northern Idaho, western Montana and parts of British Columbia. Before it was through, it claimed 87 lives—78 of them firefighters—and destroyed about a third of the town of Wallace, Idaho. During remarks delivered at a rededication of a firefighters’ memorial in 2010, Pyne asked the audience to consider that the U.S. Forest Service had been in exis- tence for barely five years before being tasked with taming the 1910 wildfires and had never faced fires
The fires of 1910 fundamentally
by the same mechanism since time immemorial: lightning arcing downward from rainless thunderstorms. But others were very much manmade—campfires set by miners, loggers and homesteaders that grew out of control, and by embers thrown off by wood- and coal-powered locomotives along hundreds of miles of tracks that pierced the forested landscape. Strong Palouse winds blew into the Bitterroots on Aug. 20, combining the innumerable smaller fires into bigger and stronger blazes. As the fires merged and grew, the vast amount of rising hot air drew in fresh air at gale-force speeds, intensifying the inferno in the same way that bellows feed a forge. “The flames roared over the Bitterroots with no more pause than the Clark Fork [River] over a boulder,” said Stephen Pyne, an emeritus professor at Arizona State University, TED Talks speaker and author of more than 30 books, among them “Year of the Fires,” a comprehensive look at the fires of 1910. shaped the nascent Forest Service, with “the memory of the fires spliced into its institutional genes.” — Stephen Pyne, Emeritus Professor, Arizona State University
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