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Planning is an essential ingredient in trails and greenways, from single projects to statewide systems. American Trails brings you examples from across the country, planning techniques, and a range of trail corridor types:

• Maximizing Trail Budgets through Competitive Bidding by Tony Boone
• The Case For Trails: Well Done, Medium Rare and Works in Progress by Bob Searns
• A new urgency for planning quality trails
• Planning Trails for a "Fit" Community by Randy Martin
• Inviting the Community Back Into the Woods: Natural Trails in Urban Landscapes (pdf of PowerPoint 760 kb)
• Principles of Recreation Resource Planning, from National Association of Recreation Resource Planners
• Greenway planning, criteria, and strategies for implementation
• Innovative Non-motorized Trails Projects and Ideas
• Four Simple Tasks to Do Prior to Trail Design by Jef Farland
• Ensuring Successful Regional Planning for Multi-use Trails
• Sample easements and agreements for trails
• Programming public involvement for plans
• GIS Role in Trails Planning in Florida
• Florida turns to Web for state trails plan update
• Trail Planning Process, Australia: step-by-step decision making and feasibility studies (PDF 163 kb)
• Planning Successful Multi-use Trails (pdf 143 kb)
• Proposed accessibility guidelines, 1999
• Innovative Trail Projects and Ideas (PDF 87k)
• Backcountry Trail Inventory: a GPS Application
• Can ranchers and environmentalists get along?
• Trails and wildlife task force convened
• Applying Feng Shui to trails and greenways

• America's New Long-Distance Trails
• Coastal Trails in California and Massachusetts
• AL: Birmingham mining roads and railbeds will be the foundation for a new trail system
• AZ: Award for Grand Canyon Greenway
• AZ: The Grand Canyon Greenway: A Model for America's National Parks
• CA: San Francisco Bay Trail
• CA: Principles for Designing the Coastal Trail
• CO: Urban trails rise from former airport
• DE: Junction & Breakwater Trail: connecting cities
• FL: St. Johns River-to-Sea Loop Trail status report (pdf 4.2 mb)
• IL: The Grand Illinois Trail partnership at work
• IN-MI: Michigan Regional Greenways plan
• ME: Citizens help select East Coast Greenway route in Maine
• MO: Planning trails for Hidden Valley Park Natural Area
• NM: Concept Paper for the Rio Grande Trail
• PA: City of Wilkes-Barre Trail and Greenway Feasibility/Master Plan
• WI: Saginaw Bay Watershed Greenway Network
• Ontario, Canada: Lake Ontario Greenway Strategy

• AZ: Maricopa County Regional Trail System Plan,Phoenix area, 196 pages (pdf 32.0 mb)
• CA: Coastal trails, waterfront access in Eureka (pdf 2.5 mb)
• CA: Creating the Town of Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access Master Plan
• CA: San Diego County Trails Plan (pdf 940kb)
• OR: Benton County Natural Areas & Parks Department Trail System Plan (pdf 464 kb)
• NY: Rochester Regional Trails Plan (pdf 3.4 mb)
• NY: Saranac River Trail Feasibility Study, Plattsbutgh
• PA: Connections: Linking Lawrence County’s Resources Through Greenways (pdf 3.4 mb)
• UT: Cache County-wide Trail & Parkway Master Plan
• VA: City of Staunton Frontier Trail Plan: Creating Connections
• TX: Dallas Trail Network Plan has online maps

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• The process of creating a State Trails Plan
• Survey of States on Trail Plans & Inventories, 2005 (pdf 228 kb)
• States plan networks for legacy of trails and greenways
• Ohio Office of Trails: Process of updating statewide trails plan
• AZ: State Motorized and Non-motorized Recreational Trails Plan (2010)
• AZ: Summary and Findings: State Motorized and Nonmotorized Trails Plan (2005)
• AZ: Recommendations from Arizona Trails 2000 (PDF 220 kb)
• AZ: AZ TRAILS 2000: Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Plan and State Trails Plan (pdf 1.3 mb)
• CA: State Recreational Trails Plan 2001 Draft
• CO: Public Survey on Attitudes toward Trails
• CO: Strategic Plan for State Trails Program
• CO: Colorado Trails Plan Update
• IA: Iowa Trails 2000
• KS: Kansas State Trails Plan 2008
• MD: 20-year Bicycle & Pedestrian Access Master Plan, 2002
• MT: Montana State Trails Plan includes both motorized and nonmotorized trails
• NV: Issues Identified by the Public in 2005 State Recreational Trails Plan
• NY: Getting Started: A Guide to Planning Trails in New York State (download six chapters)
• OH: Trails for Ohioans: A Plan for the Future, 2003 (pdf 5 mb)
• OR: Oregon Trails How-To Manual (pdf 1.8 mb)
• OR: Oregon Statewide Trails Plans, 2005
• OR: Issues ranked by planning workshop, 2003
• TN: Tennessee Greenways and Trails Plan, 2008 (pdf 2.8 mb)
• VA: Overview of Planning and Opportunities
• VA: Trails Plan: Recommendations and Analysis
• WV: Pathways to the Future: The West Virginia Statewide Trail Plan 2002 – 2005
• WY: Wyoming State Trails Program Plan, 2004
• Trail and Bicycle Path Planning Documents Bibliography (Univ. of Minnesota Library)

• CO: The $2 Million Bike Path: an ISTEA project

• TX: City of Plano, Texas seeks Trails Master Plan proposals
• UT: Ambitious Jordan River plan would extend Utah's major green north from Salt Lake city

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