Trails support
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"California has beaches, Colorado has mountains, the South has warm winters. Iowa needs some things that shout to the nation, 'This is a great place to live! The (amenities) have to be real. Trails are real."
-- Des Moines Register, November 1991
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Iowa has a long history of leaving trail construction and management in local hands, and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation has played a leading role in creating our state's extensive trail system.
But to maintain Iowa's status as a world trail capital, we must make a more conscious state investment in their funding, management and promotion. That's why INHF also leads the way in promoting state funding, planning and promotion for trails.
View a map of Iowa trails & Iowa trails info at INHF's Trails page.
Why are trails important?
- Get current information on biking and bike-related legislation in Iowa from the Iowa Bicycle Coalition. At their website, download the new publication, "Iowa's Bicycle and Pedestrian Encouragement Guide."
- Download 2008 report, "Active Transportation for America: A Case for Increased Federal Investment in Bicycling and Walking" (48-page PDF) by the Rails to Trails Conservancy and Bikes Belong.
- "State Recreational Trails" in Fiscal Topics, Iowa Legislative Services Agency, January 2009.
- Mississippi River Trail - Trail Plan: Chapter 6
- Center for Disease Control - Trails for Health
- Center for Disease Control - Healthy Community Design
- Download article, "Cost Analysis of the Built Environment: The Case of Bike and Pedestrian Trails in Lincoln, Neb" (5-page PDF) in American Journal of Public Health, April 2004, Vol 94, No. 4.
- Download "The Impacts of Rail-Trails: A study of users and nearby property owners from three trails" (8-page PDF) study report from National Park Service, 1992.
- American Trails provides up-to-date information on federal trail fuding and its benefits.
- Download reports on topics related to costs and benefits of transportation options at Victoria Transport Policy Institute (Canada).
For more on state and federal trail funding and related topics, e-mail Andrea Chase, INHF Trails Coordinator, or call 515- 288-1846.
