Research Library

Library of Trails Benefits

This Trails Benefits Library is a collection of studies on the positive impacts of trails on businesses, public health, and quality of life. Use this form to search by type of benefit, use, year, and region.

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Studies date back to 1987

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Business impacts

The Economic Impact of Outdoor Recreation in Mesa County

Hiking, Mountain biking, Summer motorized, Walking · : · 2022

To estimate the full economic impact of outdoor recreation across Mesa County, Colorado, researchers measured the impact of both outdoor recreation-related businesses (such as retail trade and manufacturing) and tourism. In 2019, the GDP impact of outdoor recreation was $484,474,065 or 7.2% of total GDP; the direct job impact was 9,897 jobs or 11% of […]

Trail use estimates

Association Between User-Generated Commuting Data and Population-Representative Active Commuting Surveillance Data—Four Cities, 2014-2015

Cycling · : , ; : , · 2016

One of the primary concerns about data from GPS tracking apps is that the users tend to be more frequent recreators or commuters and therefore do not accurately represent the actual population. This paper shows that there is a strong correlation between the reported share of people in a neighborhood commuting by active transportation between the American Community Survey (a nationally representative survey) and Strava (a GPS tracking app).

Business impactsTrail use estimatesUser attitudes

Bicycling and Walking in Colorado: Economic Impact and Household Survey Results

Cycling, Mountain biking · : · 2000

This study found that bicycle tourism draws summertime tourists to Colorado ski areas who would not have come otherwise, many of whom come from out-of-state and generate valuable economic impact. State-wide, residents are most concerned about the safety of cycling and strongly support spending on improvements such as new paved off-street bike paths and linking paths to create a statewide system.