Related links
- Upper Valley Trails Alliance website
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Active Living by Design program
- Upper Valley Land Trust
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The Upper Valley Trails Alliance, or UVTA, is a non-profit trails organization, based in Norwich, Vermont and serving the towns of the Upper Connecticut River Valley. Unlike many related groups, such as the Appalachian Mountain Club, which lead hikes and perform trail maintenance, UVTA serves more as an umbrella group, bringing together people from diverse backgrounds who are interested in protecting and expanding existing trail networks.
For example, mountain bikes are banned from using the Appalachian Trail and several other major trail systems, due to a variety of reasons including concerns about trail erosion. In the summer of 2004, UVTA helped sponsor a visit by a representative of the International Mountain Bicycling Association to help dispel some of the myths and facilitate a more expansive multi-use trail network. Because of this role convening various groups, UVTA spends as much time working with local land trust and conservation commission groups as it does working on the trail.
In late 2003, UVTA received a major grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to promote more active lifestyles in the Upper Valley through the use of trails. The result of this grant was the Trails for Life program, in association with several prominent local groups, such as the town of Hanover, New Hampshire, Dartmouth College and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. This program has so far resulted in the publication of an entry-level walking guide to local trails, and the inception of a prescription walking program, through which doctors prescribe a certain amount of physical activity each day for inactive patients. Trails for Life also aims to help towns and real estate developers create more walkable/bikeable communities.
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A trail is usually a path, track or unpaved lane or road. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, path or footpath is the preferred term for a walking trail. The term is also applied in North America to routes along rivers, and sometimes to highways. In the US, the term was historically used for a route into or through wild territory used by emigrants. In the USA "trace" is a synonym for trail, as in Natchez Trace. Some trails are single use and can be used only for walking, cycling, horse riding, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing; others, as in the case of a bridleway in the UK, are multi-use, and can be used by walkers, cyclists and equestrians. There are also unpaved trails used by dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles, and in some places, like the Alps, trails are used for moving cattle and other livestock.
The Trans Canada Trail, officially named The Great Trail between September 2016 and June 2021, is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans. The trail extends over 24,000 km (15,000 mi); it is now the longest recreational, multi-use trail network in the world. The idea for the trail began in 1992, shortly after the Canada 125 celebrations. Since then it has been supported by donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, and all levels of government.
The Westwoods Trails is an extensive hiking trail system in Guilford, Connecticut. The trail system has approximately 39 miles (63 km) of trails with features including caves, lakes, streams, rivers, and interesting rock formations. The preserve extends across land owned by the Guilford Land Conservation Trust, which also owns many other land parcels across the town which provide hiking trails, and the State of Connecticut. The trails are accessible for walking, running, and mountain biking. Hunting is only allowed on state land during the season.
The Afan Forest Park is a 48-square-mile (120 km2) forest park in Britain. It is set in the Afan Valley in Neath Port Talbot, in south Wales. It is well known for its mountain biking and hiking or hillwalking trails. It is situated seven miles (11 km) from Junction 40 of the M4.
The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit organization of its kind in the world and has 140,000 dues-paying members as of 2018. In addition to land stewardship, the organization is also active in conservation partnerships, community supported agriculture (CSA), environmental and conservation education, community preservation and development, and green building. The Trustees of Reservations own title to 120 properties on 27,000 acres (11,000 ha) in Massachusetts, all of which are open to the public; it maintains conservation restrictions on over 200 additional properties. Properties include historic mansions, estates, and gardens; woodland preserves; waterfalls; mountain peaks; wetlands and riverways; coastal bluffs, beaches, and barrier islands; farmland and CSA projects; and archaeological sites.
The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is a non-profit educational association whose mission is to create, enhance and preserve trail opportunities for mountain bikers worldwide.
The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, The Trust for Public Land has completed 5,000 park-creation and land conservation projects across the United States, protected over 3 million acres, and helped pass more than 500 ballot measures—creating $70 billion in voter-approved public funding for parks and open spaces. The Trust for Public Land also researches and publishes authoritative data about parks, open space, conservation finance, and urban climate change adaptation. Headquartered in San Francisco, the organization is among the largest U.S. conservation nonprofits, with approximately 30 field offices across the U.S., including a federal affairs function in Washington, D.C.
Open Space Institute (OSI) is a conservation organization that seeks to preserve scenic, natural and historic landscapes for public enjoyment, conserve habitats while sustaining community character, and help protect the environment. OSI uses policy initiatives and ground-level activism to help accomplish its goals.
The Stowe Recreation Path, also called the Stowe Bike Path, is a greenway located in Stowe, Vermont, United States The 5.3-mile (8.5 km) recreation trail was built in two phases, 1981–84 and 1986–89, at a total cost of US$680,000. The Stowe Recreation Path has received several awards and honors, and many people consider it a great improvement to the town.
The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail is a 22.5-mile (36.2 km) rail trail and linear park that runs along the former Wallkill Valley Railroad rail corridor in Ulster County, New York. It stretches from Gardiner through New Paltz, Rosendale and Ulster to the Kingston city line, just south of a demolished, concrete Conrail railroad bridge that was located on a team-track siding several blocks south of the also-demolished Kingston New York Central Railroad passenger station. The trail is separated from the Walden–Wallkill Rail Trail by two state prisons in Shawangunk, though there have been plans to bypass these facilities and to connect the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail with other regional rail-trails. The northern section of the trail forms part of the Empire State Trail.
Bradley Mountain, 700 feet (210 m), is a traprock mountain located 3 miles (5 km) west of New Britain, Connecticut, United States, in the towns of Southington and Plainville. It is part of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, Connecticut, north through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts to the Vermont border. Bradley Mountain, popular as an outdoor recreation destination in the metropolitan Hartford/ New Britain area, is known for its clifftop scenic vistas overlooking Plainville Reservoir, unique microclimate ecosystems, and rare plant communities. Bradley Mountain is traversed by the 62.7-mile (101 km) Metacomet Trail.
Wendell State Forest is a Massachusetts state forest located in the town of Wendell. The 7,566-acre (3,062 ha) parcel occupies a forested and hilly upland plateau south of the Millers River and west of the Quabbin Reservoir. Park roads were developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.
Commonwealth Connections is a greenway and conservation initiative co-developed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the National Park Service, and over fifty trail and land conservation agencies and non-profit organizations. Begun in 1999, the initiative was designed to create "a coordinated greenway and trail network that will help conserve important resources, provide recreation and alternative transportation opportunities close to where people live, and connect communities throughout Massachusetts."
The Bay Circuit Trail and Greenway or Bay Circuit is a Massachusetts rail trail and greenway connecting the outlying suburbs of Boston from Plum Island in Newburyport to Kingston Bay in Duxbury, a distance of 200 miles (320 km).
The Springwater Corridor Trail is a bicycle and pedestrian rail trail in the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It follows a former railway line from Boring through Gresham to Portland, where it ends south of the Eastbank Esplanade. Most of the corridor, about 21 miles (34 km) long, consists of paved, off-street trail, though about 1 mile (1.6 km) overlaps city streets in Portland's Sellwood neighborhood. A large segment roughly follows the course of Johnson Creek and crosses it on bridges many times. Much of the corridor was acquired by the City of Portland in 1990; remaining segments were acquired by Metro thereafter.
Remutaka Forest Park is a protected area near Wellington, New Zealand. Popular access points are south of Wainuiomata and in the upper Hutt Valley. The park covers 220 square kilometres (85 sq mi), encompassing the Catchpool Valley and the Ōrongorongo Valley at the southern end of the Remutaka Range. Established in 1972, the park contains several short walks and six huts that can be booked and accessed by longer bush tramps. The park is one part of several local conservation areas, as it borders the Pakuratahi Forest and the Tararua Range.
Long Mountain, 920 feet (280 m) feet above sea level, is a traprock mountain of the Holyoke Range, part of the greater Metacomet Ridge which stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. The mountain rises steeply from the surrounding landscape 600 feet (180 m) below and consists of five distinct peaks, from east to west: 685 feet (209 m), 775 feet (236 m), 795 feet (242 m), 920 feet (280 m), the high point, and the eastern summit, 906 feet (276 m). It is located within the towns of Amherst and Granby, Massachusetts. The 110-mile (180 km) Metacomet-Monadnock Trail and the 47-mile (76 km) Robert Frost Trail traverse the mountain. The Holyoke Range continues to the west as Mount Norwottuck and to the east as Harris Mountain.
A long-distance trail is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents except Antarctica.
Doylestown Central Park is a 125.5-acre area of land currently owned by Doylestown Township in Pennsylvania. It is the largest park owned by Doylestown Township, 30 of these acres are being leased to the neighboring Delaware Valley College for farming use. As part of the network of parks in the Doylestown Township and Borough, the purposes of the park are to help foster better health and wellness, serve as protection to the environment and maintain economic prosperity in the surrounding areas. These goals are in line with both state and local Park and Recreation Plans including: Pennsylvania's Recreation Plan, Regional Land Use Plan for Delaware Valley, Bucks County Park and Recreation Plan and others. This space is a dedicated green space consisting of basketball courts, tennis courts soccer fields and walking trails. Doylestown Central Park also includes some more unique features such as Kids Castle and a sensory trail for the differently abled.