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Accessible RV Checklist
Access Travel Rights
Handicapped Travel Club
Rolling Down The Trail
Family RVing
Schooling Options for RVers
Kartchner Caverns State Park
Oscar Scherer State Park
10 RVing Tips for Newbies
The Accessible RV Site
Riding The Rails
The Enabled RVer Resources
Access Travel Guides
Selecting a Cane for Travel
Fulltime RVing Challenges
Campground Access
HTC Accessible Park List
Arizona Day Drive
Touring Arizona
Columbia River Region
RVing with Kids
Volunteering and RVing
RVing and Children
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| Rails-to-Trails Conservancy |
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| RIDING THE RAILS! By Carol Randall of Access-Able Travel Source Rail Trails - are multi use trails developed from abandoned railroad corridors. In 1916 there was nearly 300,000 miles of track spanning this nation. Today less than half of the network exists. New roads and other means of transport has led to this decline which continues. Currently railroad right of ways are still being abandoned at the rate of more than 2,000 miles a year. For years these abandoned corridors reverted back to private ownership and were lost to development. That is rapidly changing thanks to new legislation in 1983 and the formation of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in 1986. Their vision was to create a network of trails across the country. Currently there are 900 rail trails in 48 states with an additional 1100 projects in progress. Rail Trails are a great source for accessible outdoor recreation. Although not all trails are suitable for wheelchair users many are; with either asphalt, hard packed dirt or gravel surfaces. To find out about rail trails near you or anywhere your travels might take you, check out the Rail Trail Conservancy's Website at http://www.railtrails.org. They are currently in the process of publishing a new directory titled "1,000 Great Rail Trails, A national Directory to replace the previous Directory "700 Great Rail Trails. To find out more about the work of the Rails-to Trails Conservancy or how to become a member contact: Helen at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, 1100 17th Street, NW, 10th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20036. Phone: 202/331-9696; Fax: 202/466-3742 This information was provided by Access-Able Travel Source, the free Internet information service for travelers with disabilities. http://www.access-able.com P.O. Box 1796, Wheat Ridge, CO 80034. Phone: 303-232-2979/ Fax: 303-239-8486 Email: carol@accessable.com |
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