Don’t miss out!
Sign up for the Partner News
to keep up to date on upcoming sessions.
Looking for a recording?
Jump to our section of recorded past presentations
Cities, Towns, & Counties for Trails
VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS
A&Y Greenway | Guilford County
Welcome to the The Great Trails State Coalition Virtual Sessions!
Enjoy live educational sessions with expert speakers, and a library of presentations from past recordings.
Upcoming Live Sessions
Sept 15, 2026
North Carolina Paddle Survey Insights
Krista White,
PhD Candidate / Graduate Research Assistant, NC State University
Dr. Charlynne T. Smith, Ph.D.
Director, Recreation Resources Service,
NC State University
Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Management
NC State University
Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Management
North Carolina State University researchers outline results from the 2025 North Carolina Paddler Impact Survey. Learn about paddler trends and preferences, including highlights about paddle access barriers, locations of heaviest use, and spending habits. Identify NC paddler trends and preferences and how this data can help support blueway/paddle trail advocacy and management!
Oct 7, 2026
Volunteer Management: Supporting and Sustaining a Strong Volunteer Community
Leanna Joyner,
Senior Director of Partnerships and Trail Operations, Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Join Leanna for a webinar exploring best practices for building, supporting, and sustaining successful volunteer programs. Drawing on the Appalachian Trail’s long tradition of volunteer stewardship—which engages approximately 6,000 volunteers in trail maintenance, corridor stewardship, natural resource protection, education, and outreach—Leanna will share insights into developing effective policies, standards, partnerships, and support systems. Participants will learn practical strategies for collaborating with volunteer groups, agency partners, boards, and committees while recognizing volunteers and strengthening their long-term engagement.
Nov 10, 2026
Reaching the Summit-Spencer Mountain Trail Acquisition & Design
Ashton Lamb,
Carolina Thread Trail
Spencer Mountain is the third highest point in the greater Charlotte region, and the mountain has never been publicly accessible before. Come learn about the trail easement and design processes that have led to the implementation of this highly anticipated adaptive natural surface trail destination.
Dec 8, 2026
Safety Drives Trail Success: Measuring Design & Economic Impact
Melissa Dominguez, Founder of Dominguez Urban Strategies.
Designing Safer Communities Through Strategic Partnerships
Designing Safer Communities Through Strategic Partnerships
Trails succeed when people feel safe. This session shows how Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) increases trail use, reduces vandalism, and builds trust, using measurable strategies that connect safety perception to economic and community impact.
Recent Recordings
July 7, 2026
Safe Routes to School: NC Communities in Action
Ada McGovern,
Safe Routes to School Coordinator, Land of Sky Regional Council
Jerry Stensland,
Foothills Council of Governments,
Rutherford Outdoor Coalition
Kat Dale,Town of Winterville’s Safe Routes to School Coordinator
Discover how NC communities are turning everyday trips to school into safer, healthier, and more connected journeys for students and families! This webinar spotlights real-world examples of how local leaders are advancing Safe Routes to School through partnerships, planning, education, and on-the-ground improvements that make walking, biking, and rolling to school easier and safer.
Hear from three leaders across the state sharing lessons learned, success stories, and practical ideas that can help communities of all sizes create safer streets, stronger neighborhoods, and more active futures for North Carolina kids.
May 5, 2026
Greenway Activity Dashboard: Impacts & Opportunities
Michael Stafford, Senior Project Manager
Program and Project Management Branch
NCDOT – Integrated Mobility Division (IMD)
Lauren Blackburn, AICP
Multimodal Safety Planning Lead, VHB
Check it out! The Great Trails State North Carolina Greenway Activity Dashboard displays data from dozens of counter stations on greenways and streets across the state. This dashboard summarizes bicyclist and pedestrian count data collected over several years for each location. Michael and Lauren share how this data was created, and how you can use it for leveraging the story of your trail and the Great Trails State!
The data is sourced from the North Carolina Non-Motorized Volume Data Program (NMVDP).
June 10, 2026
Great Trails State Complete the Trail Funding: Impact through Partnerships along the Mountains to Sea Trail
Ben Jones, MHS, MLA
Trail Planner and Landscape Architect
Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail
Senior Project Manager
Bree Charron, PE
Water Quality Program Director
NC Coastal Federation
This inspiring partnership shows how strategic partnerships and state investment are accelerating trail development.
The session spotlights a landmark success along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail—a transformative land acquisition in Carteret County that demonstrates the power of collaboration. After years of effort, partners including the North Carolina Coastal Federation, Weyerhaeuser, and the Land and Water Fund came together to secure more than 700 acres for the expansion of the North River Wetlands Preserve.
The project leveraged a $1 million Complete the Trails Program award to secure a NC Land and Water Fund grant and attracted an additional $550,000 military contribution, demonstrating how partnerships can stretch public dollars further and unlock opportunities for future investment. This project not only advances conservation and trail connectivity—it also supports the NC Coastal Federation’s mission to restore degraded coastal land back to its original state – forested, freshwater, and tidal wetlands – to improve resiliency and the water quality of degraded downstream estuaries.
Recordings of Past Presentations
Index:
- Safe Routes To School: NC Communities in Action. Ada McGovern,
Land of Sky Regional Council; Jerry Stensland, Rutherford Outdoor Coalition; Kat Dale, Town of Winterville.
- Great Trails State Complete the Trail Funding: Impact through Partnerships along the Mountains to Sea Trail – Ben Jones, Trail Planner and MLA Friends of Mountains-to-Sea Trail and Bree Charron, PE Water Quality Program Director with NC Coastal Federation
- Greenway Activity Dashboard: Impacts & Opportunities – Michael Stafford, Sr Project Manager NCDOT IMD and Lauren Blackburn, AICP, Multimodal Safety Planning Lead with VHB
- Bridging the Gap – Jason Philbin and John Pyle, PermaTrak
- The Intersection of NCDOT’s Prioritization Process and Trail Projects – Gretchen Belk, Strategic Prioritization Office Manager (SPOT)
- Engaging in the Seam: 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
- Great Trails State Year-End Impacts & Updates
- Designing Your Waterway Adventure: Promising Practices for Building Paddle Trails: Ben Rippe, Chatham County Parks and Rec and Ward Swann, Yadkin River State Trail Coordinator
- Ready to Design a Greenway? Best Practices: Iona Thomas, McAdams and Jimmy Prestwood, McAdams
- Resilient and Sustainable Trail Infrastructure: Kim Williams, Alta Planning & Design and Lucy Crown, City of Asheville
- America250 efforts in NC: Discover and tell Revolutionary War history through trails: Chelsea Keifer, America250
- Trails: An Outdoor Economy’s Essential Element: Allison Smith, Made x Mountains and Marc Wilken, PA Wilds
- Gear Up for Great Trails State Day: Nina Machnowski, The Backslope and Great Trails State Digital Engagement Coordinator
- 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 and 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 and Andy Jones, Greensboro Fire Department
- Resurrecting White Oak Creek Greenway with Strategic Partnerships: Paul Kuhn, Town of Cary, Jason Philbin, PermaTrak, and Jeff Moore, Kimley-Horne
- AARP Walk Audit: Carol Hoover, AARP Volunteer
- Trails of All Types: Will Washam and Jeromy Wegrzyn, McAdams
- Telling the Story with Trail Data: Jane Love, Carolina Thread Trail, and Steve Bert, NCSU
- Green Infrastructure, Soft Surfaces and Nature Preserves: Chuck Flink, Greenways, Inc.
- 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, and Amy Ryan, Mayor Pro-Tem, Town of Chapel Hill
- Building Visitor itineraries Based Around your Trails: Simon Jones and Carol Kline, Uplift Tourism
- Trails, Towns, and Stewardship: How Outdoor NC is Promoting Responsible Trail Tourism: Amanda Baker, Outdoor NC and Bobby Chappell, Tourism Impact Services
The Intersection of NCDOT’s Prioritization Process and Trail Projects
Gretchen Belk, Strategic Prioritization Office (SPOT) Manager with NC DOT.
Understanding how trails fit into NC’s transportation planning framework is key to securing funding and advancing projects. Attendees gain insight into how trail and greenway projects can compete for funding within the state’s Prioritization Process process, learn about recent updates to SPOT scoring, and explore best practices for aligning trail planning with local and regional transportation priorities.
Bridging The Gap
Jason Philbin, PE, President, PermaTrak
John Pyle, PE, VP, PermaTrak
Every trail tells a story, but what happens when your path meets a wetland, creek, or sensitive habitat? Jason and John break down the fundamentals of boardwalk and bridge design, from material selection and foundation types to construction methods that minimize environmental impact. With insight from North Carolina boardwalk projects, you’ll leave ready to bridge the gap between great trail vision and what can actually be built in reality.
Understanding the NC Outdoor Recreation Plan & SCORP: What Local Leaders and Trail Partners Need to Know
Grants & Outreach Program with NC Division of Parks and Recreation
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Engaging Communities in The Seam: Stitching Communities Together
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.
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. This session has key steps from design to signage, partnerships, and long-term maintenance, giving you the tools to turn a waterway into a paddling destination.
Great Trails State Year-End Impacts & Updates
2025 was a fabulous year for the Coalition! Check-out the legislative updates, membership growth, and impact stories from Great Trails State Day—along with new data on grants, regional gatherings, and statewide social media reach. You’ll also hear the latest on Coalition governance and get a first look at what’s ahead in 2026, including the Great Trails State Conference.
Ready to Design a Greenway? 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 highlights 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.
America250 efforts in NC: Recommendations for how best to discover and tell Revolutionary War history through trails
Chelsea Keifer, America250
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
Marc Wilken, PA Wilds
Explore ways trails have catalyzed economic development and local entrepreneurism in West Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania
The Power of Youth Driven Advocacy
Brian Russell, Chelle Frost, Leonard Vanhoose
North Carolina Interscholastic Cycling League
Gear Up for Great Trails State Day
Nina Machnowski, Digital Engagement Coordinator for Great Trails NC (The Backslope)
Using Visitation Statistics to Show Economic Impact
Beth Heile, Burke River Trail Association
Greensboro Downtown Greenway: Public Private Partnerships for Success & Impact
Dabney Sanders, Action Greensboro
Chelsea Phipps, Greensboro Parks & Recreation
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
Telling the Story with Trail Data
Jane Love, Carolina Thread Trail
Steve Bert, NCSU
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. Best practices include creating itineraries, including setting your theme, your stops and transitions as well as ways to make them useful for visitors.
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. Outdoor NC Trail Town Stewardship Program enhances the cultural, economic, and environmental benefits of trails for local communities across the state of North Carolina.