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
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