2007 contest | 2005-06 contest | 2004 contest | 2003 contest | 2002 contest

	Award winners are entitled to use the "Winning Website" logo on their own sites

We are pleased to announce the Winning Websites for the 2007 American Trails Website Contest. American Trails launched the first-ever contest to seek out the best websites in the cyberworld of trails and greenways. We looked for sites that really make trails come alive, and provide effective information delivery, support volunteers, and engage the public. In short, we want to showcase ways that advocates and agencies are making a difference for trails. See rules for the 2007 Website Contest: deadline for entries was July 31, 2007.

We are pleased to bring you the Winning Websites as well as 55 others nominated for the contest. Visit these great sites for information, ideas, and inspiration. And take a look at the previous winners and nominees for 2005-06 and 2002 and 2003 and 2004.

WINNING WEBSITES for 2007:

COMMUNITY trails system site (town or county or other local jurisdiction):

• San Jose Trails Program helps residents to find a new trail and participate in planning of the future 100-mile network: www.sjparks.org/Trails

Trail organization or club website:

• Equestrian Land Conservation Resource works to support planning and management of horse trails and to promote volunteerism and public involvement: www.elcr.org

PERSONAL site (for an individual who has developed a site on his or her own):

• Laura Vonk's Missouri Trailblazing provides in-depth information on Missouri's multi-use trails that are accessible to horseback riders, all in one place: www.motrailblazing.com

Designated NATIONAL RECREATION TRAIL website:

• The Sheltowee Trace provides an interactive map, photos, and trip reports for the 260-mile designated National Recreation Trail in KY and TN: www.sheltoweetrace.com/

Trails on FEDERAL LANDS:

• Rampart Range Motorized Management Committee and federal land managers work together to maintain and preserve OHV opportunities in the Pike National Forest near Denver: www.Rampartrange.org

STATE AGENCY site (state trail or state program):

• Minnesota DNR's OHV riding in Minnesota website helps everyone find where they can legally ride, and promotes a positive trail riding experience while reducing impacts on our lands: www.findthetrails.com

PRESENTATION of PLANS and proposals for a major trail project:

• Parleys Rails, Trails, and Tunnels Coalition is working to create the 8-mile Parley's Creek Corridor Trail, connecting Bonneville Shoreline Trail on the east with Jordan River Parkway Trail in the Salt Lake Valley: http://parleystrail.org/

TRAILS TRAINING and education site:

• Volunteers for Outdoor Washington trains volunteers to be stewards of the environment. We partner with land managers to build trails, restore habitat, and preserve Washington's rich heritage: www.trailvolunteers.org

GRAPHICS and site design:

• Sierra Front Recreation Coalition and Nevada Commission on Tourism use an interactive design to help visitors find trails, useful information, directions, photos, and difficulty levels: www.sierrafront.org

Best use of PHOTOGRAPHS:

• Kentucky Rails to Trails Council describes the rail trail projects in various stages of completion throughout the state, illustrated with a wealth of photos:: www.kyrailtrail.org

TRAIL TOUR or virtual visit:

• John Gardiner's Nevada County Trail Guide uses Google Maps and Earth to depict trails in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains: www.bonc.org/trailguide.htm

Recognition and promotion of VOLUNTEERISM:

• The VOutdoors website's search engine links Colorado volunteers with opportunities that match their skills and interests, searching by date, type of work, location and agency or community organization: www.voutdoors.org/

Best site for KIDS and FAMILIES:

• Canada's Waterfront Trail has "The Great Waterfront Trail Adventure" and "Tastes of the Trail Starter's Kit" for kids and families: www.waterfronttrail.org/getstarted.html

Trail-related BUSINESS or PRODUCTS:

• Books for Hikers: Based on a retired librarian's comprehensive list of bibliographies for hikers, this site is a must for anyone wanting to research more about any major trail or trail topic.: http://booksforhikers.com/

TRAVEL and TOURISM site for trails:

• Florida Hikes! includes hike entries with links to Google maps for driving directions and ease of finding trailheads, and promotes the author's books that contain comprehensive details about Florida hiking.s: www.floridahikes.com

Promotion of trails for HEALTH and PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:

• Montgomery County (MD) Heart Smart Trails includes high-quality maps to encourage people to take the first step toward a healthier lifestyle: www.montgomerytrails.org

NOMINATED WEBSITES for 2007:

~ European Greenways Association gathers all greenways across Europe for both planners and trail visitors: www.oevv-egwo.org/

~ Wildlife Habitat Council works with companies across America to certify habitat sites and to promote environmental education as well as trails on corporate lands: www.wildlifehc.org/

~ Colorado Outdoor Training Initiative is working to improve leadership and training for trails and outdoor resource stewardship: www.cotionline.org

~ Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Trail Volunteers keep folks informed about local trail work and encourage responsible trail use by all users, especially mountain bikers: http://sbmtv.org/

~ The Trail Center and its volunteers care for and promote quality non-motorized trail opportunities for all people in four South Bay Area counties: www.trailcenter.org/

~ Washington Trails Association promotes volunteerism and advocacy for hikers: www.wta.org/

~ The goal of Stay The Trail is to create a statewide culture of responsible OHV use in Colorado and includes News, Where to Ride, and Trail Ethics: www.staythetrail.org/

~ Tread Lightly! provides a variety of tools to help protect recreation access and opportunities in the outdoors through education and stewardship: http://treadlightly.org/

~ Geeks in the Woods works to help get kids active in the outdoors: www.geeksinthewoods.org/

~ Trailnet Promotes Active Living in St. Louis through bicycle and pedestrian activities: www.trailnet.org

~ Vermont Trails & Greenways Council works for funding for trail planning and development, protecting the public rights-of-way, and fostering good landowner relationships: www.vermonttrailsandgreenways.org/

~ New Hampshire Trails by NH Division of Parks and Recreation's Bureau of Trails provides information for all types of trails plus liability, legal, and funding issues: www.NHTRAILS.org

~ Massachusetts DCR Greenways and Trails Program includes the Connections monthly electronic newsletter with useful trails and greenways articles and information: www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/greenway/newsletter.htm

~ NYRiders.Com is a free site enabling riders to contact each other and find new people to ride with and new places to ride, and hosts riding events for all kinds of OHV and snowmobile activities: www.nyriders.com

~ Motorized Recreation Council of Wyoming make it easy for enthusiasts to participate in travel planning on public lands, which make up half of the land in Wyoming: www.mrcow.org

~ Riding Arizona is an OHV network, specializing in Arizona trail information for riders of motorcycles & quads: http://ridingarizona.com/

~ State of Wyoming Snowmobile Page includes maps, safety, trail grooming, businesses, and program information: http://wyotrails.state.wy.us/snow/

~ Snowmobile North Dakota: www.snowmobilend.org

~ Illinois Association of Snowmobile Clubs Inc.: www.ilsnowmobile.com

~ DuneGuide.com provides a guide and atlas to sand dune locations, recreation, and riding opportunities throughout the United States: www.duneguide.com/

~ RiderPlanet USA includes route descriptions, photos, and scrollable arial photo maps for ATV and motorcycle trail riders: www.riderplanet.com

~ National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council has an extensive library on bulding and managing sustainable trails, and for kids, the Adventure Trail on-line game: www.nohvcc.org

~ Ammonoosuc Valley ATV Club of New Hampshire has information about the local multi-use railtrail, volunteer work, and club events: www.avatv.org/

~ Raven Off-Road Off Highway Vehicle Club (Oregon City, OR) members volunteer their time and money to improve our trails and communities: www.ROROHVC.COM

~ Harlan County Ridge Runners ATC Club promotes volunteerism, assisting over 1200 children witha Christmas ride, and purchased chain saws, first aid kits, and hand tools to assist in repairing trails and operations of the Off Road Adventure Park: www.rr.kyoutdoors.com

~ Wheeling Wheelmen involve the community in their bike rides for both members and non-members: www.wheelmen.com

~ Coalition for the Outdoor Recreation Plan promotes citizen action to realize the vision of an extensive system of trails and parks in Sonoma County (CA): www.sonomatrails.org/

~ Sierra Access Coalition provides a unified voice for forest users with the goal of preserving environmentally-sound routes for public use in the USFS OHV Route Designation Project in northern CA on the Plumas and Lassen National Forests: www.sierraaccess.com/

~ Ventana Wilderness Alliance provides information on the Ventana Wilderness in the Los Padres Mountains (CA) with trail reports, photos, and recognition of volunteers: www.ventanawild.org

~ Yakima Greenway Foundation works to enhance and maintain the Yakima Greenway, a National Recreation Trail: www.yakimagreenway.org/

~ Glacial Drumlin Horse Trail Association provides a great deal of information to horse trail advocates in Wisconsin: www.madison.com/communities/gdhta

~ The Colorado Trail Foundation cares for The Colorado Trail, managing all the great volunteers who built and continue to maintain and improve it: www.coloradotrail.org/

~ Arizona Trail Association covers the 43 segments, or passages, of the Arizona Trail, each of which are assigned to Segment Stewards: www.aztrail.org

~ Florida Trail Association provides information about the National Scenic Trail as well as the Association itself. An interactive calendar makes it easy to plan activities, a blog covers trail conditions and news, and the new image library provides hundreds of pictures: www.floridatrail.org

~ Coachella Valley Community Trails Alliance (CA) promotes a trails and greenways system from Palm Springs to the Salton Sea: www.cvcta.org/

~ Chautauqua Rails-to-Trails is preserving abandoned rail corridors for conversion into safe off-road trails in western New York: www.fairpoint.net/~crtt/index.html

~ Rails to Trails Of The Withlacoochee assists the Florida Dept of Environmental Protection by helping to develop, maintain, and promote the Withlacoochee State Trail: www.railstotrailsonline.com/

~ The George S. Mickelson Trail site, sponsored by South Dakota Div. of Parks and Recreation, links to visitor centers in towns along the railtrail, shuttle and rental contacts, calendar of events, photos, and interactive map of the trail: www.MickelsonTrail.com

~ Friends of the Hank Aaron State Trail supports an urban trail through a former industrial area as a key means of connecting Milwaukee neighborhoods, promoting bicycle commuting, and restoring native habitats: www.hankaaronstatetrail.org

~ Rails-To-Trails of NW Montana works to build and maintain trails on the former Great Northern Railway: www.railstotrailsofnwmt.com/

~ Portland Trails' (Maine) new website helps community members and visitors find local trails, learn about the organization, and get involved: www.trails.org

~ Minocqua.org includes hiking, biking, photography, and art on the trails in the Minocqua - Arbor Vitae - Woodruff area of Wisconsin: www.minocqua.org/trails

~ Williamsburg Woodland Trails is a community trails site offering philosophy, trail use guidelines, trail maps and events, and photos: www.williamsburgwoodlandtrails.org/

~ Roseville Bikeways helps city staff and community members make Roseville, CA "An Amazing Place to Ride a Bike": www.roseville.ca.us/transportation/bikeways

~ City of Charlottesville, NC provides trails information and maps: www.charlottesville.org/

~ City of Boulder (CO) Open Space and Mountain Parks sponsors "Trail Access for People with Disabilities": www.bouldercolorado.gov/

~ Becky Johnstone's site for the McCall, Idaho area includes snow trail grooming updates, Travel Plan comments, hiking, and other trail information: www.secesh.net/

~ The Nimblewill Nomad is the website of M. J. "Eb" Eberhart, long distance hiker and author: www.nimblewillnomad.com

~ Paul Harrell's Columbia, SC bikeshop supports local riders with trail system descriptions, directions, weather and additional resources: www.harrellsbicycle.com/

~ Personal site on the John Muir Trail with great maps and information: http://www.jmt2k.com

~ Harmony Trails uses musical instruments built into the trail in natural settings to renew the spirit and rediscover the soul: www.harmonytrails.com

~ ThumperTalk Forum for motorcycle/ATV enthusiasts now includes finding places to ride and people to ride with as well as discussion forums on specific models, tips & repairs, advice from industry experts, and riding techniques: www.thumpertalk.com/forum/

~ Trails-R-Us includes trail information on a wide variety of topics from historic heritage corridors to antiques and unique bed and breakfast inns to the best in bluegrass and BBQ, as well as Wildlife and Birding Trails: http://trailsrus.com

~ Trailcentral.com provides info on Colorado trails, GPS maps, blogs, forums, bicycling shops, photos, trail of the month: www.trailcentral.com

~ Livable City promotes campaigns including Complete Streets, Livable Downtown, and Greenway Network in San Francisco: www.livablecity.org

American Trails would again like to thank John Ansbro for his extensive research on the dozens of nominated websites for this contest. He has helped out every year with the website contest. John, who is a city planner in Evanston, Indiana, also provides us with many of the news items you'll find on our home page.

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