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Get Unplugged. Get Outdoors. Get Cool Prizes. Search Results. RTC’s 2018 Doppelt Grants Invest in 10 Trail Projects, Filling Critical Gaps in Trail Funding. Next week is National Trails Day 2018, and in honor of this celebratory occasion, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) is pleased to announce the recipients of our 2018 Doppelt Family Trail Development Fund grant program!

RTC’s 2018 Doppelt Grants Invest in 10 Trail Projects, Filling Critical Gaps in Trail Funding

Since 2015, RTC’s Doppelt Fund has awarded nearly a half-million dollars in grants to nonprofits and government agencies working to develop and improve multiuse trails. Established with funding from philanthropist Jeff Doppelt of Great Neck, New York, and an anonymous donor, the Doppelt Fund helps organizations and local governments bring trail concepts to fruition and fill gaps in trails and trail systems. Uniquely, awards from the Doppelt Fund can be used to match federal or state funding awards—encouraging increased participation in these trail funding programs by municipalities and other levels of government, and demonstrating their value to decision-makers, locally and nationally. 2018 Grant Recipients The 2018 Doppelt Fund recipients are as follows:

Newsletters NC Rail-Trails. River to the Sea Bikeway. Winston-Salem Strollway. "This trail connects the historic restored Moravian village of Old Salem with downtown Winston-Salem (about 1 mile one-way).

Winston-Salem Strollway

The leafy trail, roughly parallel to and one to two blocks west of, S. Main St., is wide and constructed of an excellent solidly-packed stone surface (small river stone, not gravel!). It is suitable for bicycles, strollers and foot travel. Ample parking is available (and recommended) across S. Main St. at the Old Salem Visitors Center. North Carolina Trails. Irwin Creek and Stewart Creek Greenways. Charlotte Trolley Trail (Charlotte Trolley Rail-with-Trail) North Carolina Trails. I love this trail!

North Carolina Trails

Not only does it allow me to breeze through town easily and without having to navigate the traffic (most of which is not at all friendly toward bikes/peds), it's new extension allows me to ride straight into PNF! Before its implementation, I always thought Brevard could use a path of this sort, but I also realized that its layout makes building a bike path that is accessible by most quite awkward. And granted, you do have to ride a short section alongside NC 280, but that small negative aspect is far outweighed by the beautiful scenery encountered when riding along the other sections that take you through meadows, forested areas, and across creeks and streams. This path is a boon for families with children, also. What a convenient and beautiful place to plan a family walk-day, or to take the kids into the stream to play around! Atlantic & Yadkin Greenway. American Tobacco Trail.

I am going to pass on a lot of info about the American Tobacco Trail.

American Tobacco Trail

I live about a half-mile from the trail and have been riding it regularly for 13 years, dating back to the days when the railroad bridges had rotted away and I came home with bloody legs from riding through thorny overgrowth. Area governments and volunteers have done a fantastic job of developing the trail and more is yet to come. I ride it for enjoyment and to commute to downtown Durham, so I may not review it as a “destination ride”, but I know it very well, so here goes. The trail is divided into two sections. The southern section, about 14 miles from the southern trailhead to Renaissance Parkway, is largely through rural woodlands. The northern section runs for about 6 miles. After the trail officially ends by the ballpark, you continue north through downtown on the city streets. Here is the link to the trail website with maps. Benefits of Cycling – NC Rail Trails.

So, Rail Trails are frequently used by cyclists who enjoy the smooth path.

Benefits of Cycling – NC Rail Trails

They know something you might not be aware of: The numerous benefits of cycling. Let’s dive right into the 10 most important ones. Fitness Cycling keeps you fit! If you ride your bike for one hour at a speed of 10 to 15 mph, your body consumes a whopping 500 calories! Independence Waiting for the bus? Favorable alternative If you have to keep an eye on your wallet, there should be nothing closer than to get on your bike. No annoying waiting times The waiting for bus and train is over! Environmental friendliness Are you concerned about the environment? Nature Fields, meadows, and forests are just waiting to be explored by bike! Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. 500 Miles Through the Carolinas. Sophomore Bridgette Conboy loves her idyllic rural college campus, so she doesn't mind driving or taking the crowded shuttle bus on a congested road across an interstate highway to some of her classes at the school's in-town campus.

500 Miles Through the Carolinas

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. The Importance of Rail Trails in America – NC Rail Trails. Open spaces clear to roam are not easy to find in some places.

The Importance of Rail Trails in America – NC Rail Trails

Fortunately, the closing of railroad tracks in the United States and other parts of the world provide an open line of cleared paths for the public to travel. This makes the use of rail trails a great idea for active people. Old rail lines, long forgotten and unused are turned into relaxing spaces for biking, horseback riding, walking, or cycling. Trails are long flat strips of land that goes for miles through communities, tree-lined areas, and historical properties. North Carolina’s unsung Rails-to-Trails escapes - GetGoing NC! I love a good trail, and while I’m familiar with a lot of traditional hiking trails in North Carolina (see “Backpacking North Carolina” and “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina”) I’m less familiar with the state’s rails-to-trail’s projects.

North Carolina’s unsung Rails-to-Trails escapes - GetGoing NC!

I realized this in December when, on a 50-mile backpack trip of the North Carolina Bartram Trail, I suddenly found myself on a 1.2-mile stretch of paved greenway along the Nantahala River. Later, I learned that I’d been on the Nantahala Bikeway, a U.S. Forest Service project that incorporates a half mile of old railbed along the Nantahala River in Swain County (near Patton’s Run, for you whitewater boaters).

North Carolina’s unsung Rails-to-Trails escapes - GetGoing NC!