Trail Builder Magazine

11/12/2025

What happens when a town invests in trails instead of waiting for a lumber mill or mine to reopen?

Across rural America, trails are creating both direct and indirect jobs, supporting trail builders, guides, restaurants, and local businesses while attracting new residents and investment.

From Arkansas to West Virginia, communities are proving that trail building is recreation and economic development working hand in hand.

Trails are more than recreation—they are catalysts for rural economic growth. From Northwest Arkansas to Colorado, Idaho, and West Virginia, trail systems are creating direct and indirect jobs, driving tourism, and revitalizing small-town economies once dependent on extraction industries. Discover...

11/11/2025

Why Trail Builder Magazine?

Mountain biking celebrates its top riders, influencers, and brands (and rightly so!). We believe that trail builders, the unsung heroes, are integral to mountain biking.

Our mission is simple: Inspire. Inform. Connect. We celebrate the people shaping trails around the world. We share ideas, lessons, and stories from rainforests to deserts. And we connect builders, advocates, and organizations working toward the same goal ... more trails for more people.

Our magazine content is written by you and for you. Thanks as always for your support!

11/10/2025

Want to grow your volunteer base? Start with what people see.

In our research, one message came through clearly: when people see themselves represented in trail-building photos, videos, and stories, they’re more likely to join in.

The more people digging side by side, the better.

What are you doing in your local trail org to grow your volunteer base?

’reg

11/06/2025

We've been exploring the economic impact of trails on rural communities. There will be more to come.

Here's a question I've been reflecting on lately, and I'd love your feedback: "How do you encourage visitors to spend more money in your town before and after riding?"

11/05/2025

Grants Pass, Oregon, is emerging as the state’s next trail town. The new Dollar Mountain Trail System, 11 miles of new singletrack minutes from downtown, is a story of collaboration between city leaders, Visit Grants Pass, and Rogue Valley Mountain Bike Association- RVMBA, and a glimpse at how trails can shape a community’s future.

The new Dollar Mountain Trail System is transforming Grants Pass, Oregon, into a trail town. Learn how local partnerships, small businesses, and 11miles of new singletrack are helping this southern Oregon community grow its outdoor recreation economy and redefine its identity around trails.

11/04/2025

We hear it all the time: trails create jobs. But what does that actually look like in practice? What kind of jobs are we talking about?

11/03/2025

This week I'm working on an article exploring the "anatomy of a trail town." In other words, what are the components or ingredients that are needed for a town to be alluring to mountain bikers?

For me, coffee is at the top of the list. Stumbling across Wheelhouse Coffee in Grants Pass this weekend (a mile from the trailhead) was the perfect way to start the weekend.

What are your trail town essentials?

10/30/2025

Trail building doesn’t happen in isolation. For-profit builders bring skill, precision, heavy equipment, and design expertise. Nonprofits bring local knowledge, advocacy, volunteer power, and community trust.

When these two worlds collaborate, entire trail systems thrive. When they don’t, momentum stalls.

So here’s the question: what does a great partnership between a trail company and a nonprofit look like in your experience?

10/29/2025

When should you start your own trail org?

Maybe you’ve been showing up to dig days, building solo in your community, or dreaming up a new trail system on the back of a napkin.

Maybe your town doesn’t have a trail org yet. Or maybe the one that exists doesn’t reflect your vision, your voice, or your values.

So how do you know when it’s time to stop waiting and start building?

We’d love to hear from those who’ve done it.
What was the tipping point that made you say, “Let’s go?”

Drop your story, advice, and wisdom in the comments.

10/28/2025

Just got back from Arizona after speaking at the Spirit World fundraiser for the Arizona Trail. I tossed the script and made it a convo instead. The topic? Gravel as the gateway to becoming a trail town. Here’s what I would’ve said if I stuck to the speech ...

Discover how gravel races can spark trail-based tourism and community renewal. This story-driven piece explores rural towns like Douglas and Patagonia, AZ, showing how low-cost events build momentum, foster belonging, and lay the foundation for vibrant trail economies without losing local identity.

10/27/2025

I started Trail Builder Magazine because I believe trail builders deserve a platform built for them, one that informs, inspires, and connects this community around the shared goal of building and advocating for more trails.

Every subscription helps make that possible. It funds the writers, photographers, and researchers who tell these stories. These are stories that aren’t driven by algorithms or ad budgets, but by passion for the craft and the people behind it.

When you subscribe, you’re not just getting a print or digital magazine (which you are). You’re helping create a community-built media outlet that elevates new voices and pushes the trail building industry forward.

Subscribers also receive industry discounts from brands who believe in supporting the builders behind the ride.

If you’ve been following along, reading, or sharing our work, thank you. The best way to keep this growing is to subscribe now ... https://bit.ly/44fVkOt

10/23/2025

Trail building has always been about connection between people, landscapes, and the shared experience of being outdoors.

Now it is also about resilience.

The same creativity that shapes a perfect berm or a scenic viewpoint is what will help this community adapt to a changing climate.

Trails cannot be built for the climate we remember. They have to be built for the one we have.

Read the full article: https://bit.ly/49dGdat