Cities, Towns, and Counties for Trails | Great Trails State Coalition

Cities, Towns, & Counties for Trails

VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS

A&Y Greenway | Guilford County

The Great Trails State Coalition is bringing a series of virtual presentations with content from the 2024 Great Trails State Conference to our Cities, Towns and Counties for Trails Working Group meetings, for the benefit of communities across the state.

Scroll down to see upcoming presentations and register for the sessions that interest you.
Looking for a recording? Jump to our section of recorded past presentations:

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November 5, 2025

Ready to Design a Greenway?
Design Best Practices

Iona Thomas, Chief Strategy Officer, McAdams

Jimmy Prestwood, Engineer, McAdams

New to greenway design and don’t know where to start? This session will feature a presentation which will highlight best practices, key considerations, and available resources when designing and implementing greenway projects. Key topics covered include establishing design criteria (greenway width, longitudinal slopes, cross slope, cut/fill slopes, safety rail warrants), structures considerations (type, siting, loading requirements), drainage considerations, long-term maintenance considerations, and interaction with park amenities.

December 2, 2025

Designing Your Waterway Adventure: Promising Practices for Building Paddle Trails

Ben Rippe, Trails and Open Space Planner, Chatham County Parks and Recreation

Ward Swann, Yadkin River State Trail Coordinator

Building a paddle trail is more than mapping a route—it’s about creating safe, accessible, and environmentally responsible experiences on the water. Join us for key steps from design to signage, partnerships, and long-term maintenance, giving you the tools to turn a waterway into a paddling destination.

January 13, 2026

Engaging Communities in The Seam: Stitching Communities Together

Curtis Bridges, AICP, Planning Project Coordinator, Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization

Matt Weschler, PE, LEED ND, Senior Associate, Studio Leader |LandDesign.com

John Cock, AICP
Transportation Planning Group Leader | Principal Bolton & Menk, Inc.

Building on the Mooresville-Charlotte Trail study and NC Great Trails State Plan, The Seam will be a 60+ mile trail from South Carolina to Statesville, NC, that enhances regional connectivity. This interactive session will review the goals of the Seam and seek feedback for ongoing planning efforts.

February 10, 2026

The Intersection of NCDOT’s Prioritization Process and Trail Projects

Gretchen Belk, Strategic Prioritization Office (SPOT) Manager with NC DOT and

Sarah Lee, Strategic Prioritization Office (SPOT) Senior Transportation Engineer, NC DOT

Understanding how trails fit into North Carolina’s transportation planning framework is key to securing funding and advancing projects. Join us to demystify the state’s Prioritization Process —the data-driven system used to determine transportation investment priorities. Attendees will gain insight into how trail and greenway projects can compete for funding within this process, learn about recent updates to SPOT scoring, and explore best practices for aligning trail planning with local and regional transportation priorities.

Recordings of Past Presentations

America250 efforts in NC: Recommendations for how best to discover and tell Revolutionary War history through trails

Chelsea Keifer, America250

Across the country, Americans are planning unique and exciting ways to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. America250 has compiled upcoming milestones and opportunities to get engaged and ensure that all Americans can find ways to commemorate this historic moment in our nation’s history.

Resilient and Sustainable Trail Infrastructure

Asheville’s Post-Helene Recovery Work with Lucy Crown, the City of Asheville

Resilient and Sustainable Trail Infrastructure with Kimberly Williams, Alta Planning + Design, Inc.

Trails: An Outdoor Economy's Essential Element

Allison Smith, Made x Mountains

Join Economic Recovery Corps Fellows Allison Smith (WNC MADE X MTNS PARTNERSHIP) and Marc Wilken (PA Wilds) to explore ways that trails have catalyzed economic development and local entrepreneurism in West Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Allison and Marc will reflect on creative funding strategies, tools for crafting data-driven stories, and ways that locally-rooted initiatives can drive impact.

Gear Up for Great Trails State Day

Nina Machnowski, Digital Engagement Coordinator for Great Trails NC (The Backslope)

Join the Great Trails State Coalition for a practical, energizing session to help you make the most of Great Trails State Day. We’ll share ready-to-use outreach tools, event ideas, and promotional resources to engage your community, inspire trail supporters, and amplify your local impact. Whether you’re hosting a trail cleanup, leading a group hike, or rallying support online, you’ll walk away with the tips, templates, and connections you need to celebrate North Carolina’s trails and the people who love them.

The Power of Youth Driven Trail Advocacy

Brian Russell, Chelle Frost, Leonard Vanhoose

North Carolina Interscholastic Cycling League

Greensboro Downtown Greenway: Public Private Partnerships for Success & Impact

Dabney Sanders, Action Greensboro

Chelsea Phipps, Greensboro Parks & Recreation

Using Visitation Statistics to Show Economic Impact

Beth Heile, Burke River Trail Association

Trail Safety: An Overview of Greensboro’s Rescue Marker Program

Elizabeth Jernigan, Greensboro Parks & Recreation

Andy Jones, Greensboro Fire Department

Resurrecting White Oak Creek Greenway with Strategic Partnerships

Paul Kuhn, Town of Cary

Jason Philbin, PermaTrak

Jeff Moore, Kimley-Horne

AARP Walk Audit

Carol Hoover, AARP Volunteer

Telling the Story with Trail Data

Jane Love, Carolina Thread Trail

Steve Bert, NCSU

Trails of All Types

Will Washam and Jeromy Wegrzyn, McAdams

Green Infrastructure, Soft Surface Trails, and Nature Preserves

Chuck Flink, Greenways, Inc.

Sponsored by

Why Trails are Important in My Community: Hear From Local Elected Officials

Sig Hutchinson, former Wake County Commissioner

Hope Haywood, Randolph County Commissioner

Maureen Copelof, Mayor, Town of Brevard

Amy Ryan, Mayor Pro-Tem, Town of Chapel Hill

Building Visitor itineraries Based Around your Trails

Simon Jones and Carol Kline, Uplift Tourism

It’s a lot of work to plan, develop, and maintain a trail. In this session, we will provide a primer on creating visitor itineraries (based around your trails) to maximize the trail’s economic impact in your community. The session will include best practices for creating itineraries, including setting your theme, your stops and transitions as well as ways to make them useful for visitors. We will also talk strategies for keeping the itineraries’ momentum alive so that people stay longer and spend more in the communities they are visiting!

Trails, Towns, and Stewardship: How Outdoor NC is Promoting Responsible Trail Tourism

Amanda Baker, Outdoor NC

Bobby Chappell, Tourism Impact Services

Trails connect us to nature, culture, history, and community. This informative session will focus on destination stewardship, accessible outdoor recreation, responsible travel, and how these concepts help trail towns of all shapes and sizes reimagine the purpose of tourism. Discover how the Outdoor NC Trail Town Stewardship Program enhances the cultural, economic, and environmental benefits of trails for local communities across the state of North Carolina. Whether you’re a tourism professional, community leader, or trail enthusiast, this session will highlight actionable insights and valuable resources to help participants harness the power of walking, biking, water-based, and driving trails.