RTC Launches TrailLink.com Nationwide Trail (bike, foot, horse) Map
The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy launched TrailLink.com, a nationwide interactive map of bike routes and off-road bike trails. Besides the ability to find trails by name location and use (bike, horse, ski, etc.), and surface (grass, asphalt, sand, etc.), the site is looking for visitors to contribute by GPSing trails.
The site requires login for interactive maps of the trails and provides results in list form, with no map. The national map provides point locations for one more trails, but you must zoom in manually (Google Maps mashup) to get to a scale where the route can be drawn. One other concern: at least in my world “trail” means “woods.” We call our “trail” a “path,” aka “The Bike Path,” “the Community Path,” though of course it’s officially the Minuteman Bike Trail.
“We’re excited about the success of our mapping initiative to date,” said Frederick Schaedtler, RTC director of information technology. “We now have GIS coverage in all 50 states, including most high-density urban areas.”
I’m not sure what that means, exactly.
