Early registration discount through August 31, 2024
Register by July 31 for complimentary enrollment in the Trail Towns 101 Pre-Course Accelerator
FREE CONTINUING EDUCATION LEARNING CREDITS AVAILABLE
Trail Towns 101: Strategies, Tools and Inspiration to Make Trails Work for Your Community
Three 2-hour live video conference sessions + one-on-one coaching • Tuesdays, February 4-18, 2025, 10-12 PT/1-3 pm ET
Pre-Course Trail Town Accelerator (optional add-on) • Tuesdays, Sept. 24, Dec. 3 and Jan. 14, 10-11:30 PT/1-2:30 ET
Instructors: Amy Camp (Cycle Forward) and Michele Archie (The Harbinger Consultancy)
Put the transformative power of trails to work. This inspiring course is a call to action, a source of new ideas, and a practical guide for communities looking to harness the benefits of their local trails. Ideal for trail lovers, local leaders, and economic development professionals, this program delivers the insights and tools you need to turn your community into a thriving trail town.
In Session 1: Fundamentals, you'll dive into what it means to be a trail town, explore the development of trail towns across the nation, and learn how communities are leveraging their trails for substantial impact. We’ll address common challenges, debunk myths, and equip you with participatory tools for engaging your community and building momentum.
Session 2: Building Your Trail Town Identity focuses on linking your trail with your town through strategic methods. You’ll learn to cultivate a distinctive trail culture, identify and fill hospitality gaps, and understand your market better. Discover how to tell your community’s unique stories and develop a grassroots marketing strategy that can grow trail use among locals and turn them into your strongest advocates.
Finally, in Session 3: Sustaining Your Trail Town, you’ll explore strategies to build and maintain memorable trail and town experiences. This session delves into supporting local economies, ensuring trail stewardship, managing visitor experiences, and becoming a recognized trail destination. We’ll also cover funding opportunities, progress tracking, and celebrating successes to maintain long-term momentum.
Join us on this journey to create vibrant, trail-centric communities. Trail Towns 101 will help you take the next steps toward unlocking the full potential of your local trails.
Bring a friend, neighbor, colleague or partner and save on your registration fee. We love to see teams from the same area—it makes for a powerful, collaborative experience that turns what you learn together into action. And you’ll have a built-in support network for advancing this work. See details about group rates below.
COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Understand the Fundamentals: Gain a clear understanding of what it means to be a trail town (hint: you do not need to be part of an organized trail town initiative). Learn from successful trail town case studies across the nation, including formal trail town programs and can-do communities forging their own paths.
Harness Community Engagement: Identify effective tools and strategies for gauging community readiness, overcoming obstacles, and engaging community members in trail town initiatives.
Cultivate Trail Town Identity: Develop skills to link trails and towns through physical and strategic connections, enhance trail culture, fill hospitality gaps, and understand market needs.
Branding and Storytelling: Learn hands-on techniques for creating a strong community brand, sharing your community’s unique stories, and implementing grassroots marketing strategies.
Sustain and Grow Your Trail Town: Discover methods to build and maintain quality trail experiences, support local economies, ensure stewardship, keep residents and visitors engaged, and secure funding for ongoing trail town initiatives.
Track and Celebrate Progress: Explore tools and strategies for tracking progress, reflecting on achievements, and celebrating successes to maintain long-term community momentum and envision future growth.
PLUS ONE-ON-ONE COACHING
Your registration fee includes a post-course, one-on-one or team consultation session to address your particular situation and needs.
WHO IS THIS FOR?
Trail lovers, advocates and friends groups • Community & economic development organizations and agency staff • Chambers of Commerce & business alliances • Tourism promotion agencies and destination marketing and management organizations • Place-based & conservation organizations • Extension & community development professionals • Downtown & Main Street groups • Other community leaders • Arts & culture and heritage groups• Outdoor recreation organizations • Entrepreneurs and business owners • Management of parks, trails natural areas and heritage sites • Community changemakers, no matter the title
COURSE INSTRUCTORS
Amy Camp has been at the center of the trail town movement for 17 years. She coaches and supports local leaders and communities in trail town development, strengthening heritage tourism, and accessing the outdoor recreation economy. See Amy on LinkedIn, learn more at CycleForward.org, and check out her book, Deciding On Trails: 7 Practices of Healthy Trail Towns.
Michele Archie is a principal of The Harbinger Consultancy. Michele’s integrated approach to trail town development is built on 30 years of experience with community engagement, community economic development, and destination stewardship in rural and outdoor recreation communities. See Michele on LinkedIn, and learn more right here at HarbingerConsult.com.
SESSION DATES AND TIMES
Three live 2-hour weekly video conference sessions • Tuesdays, February 4-18, 2025, 10-12 PT/1-3 pm ET
Pre-Course Trail Town Accelerator (optional add-on, see details below) • Tuesdays, Sept. 24, Dec. 3 and Jan. 14, 10-11:30 PT/1-2:30 ET
FEES & DETAILS
$525 regular course fee • $425 early registration discount through August 31, 2024. Discounts for two or more participants from the same organization, community or area: $375 early registration, $425 regular group rate
Add the optional Pre-Course Accelerator:
Sign up for the course by July 31 and join the accelerator free.
$120 early registration fee, August 1-31
$150 regular registration fee Sept. 1-13. Registration for the accelerator closes on September 13.
If you have an organizational or other special discount code, these work on top of early registration and group rates, for a further fee reduction.
Contact us for special rates for groups of five or more. We often work with cohorts in our courses, and can create a custom package including group meetings and coaching during and/or after the course.
FREE LEARNING CREDITS
Through a partnership with American Trails, Harbinger is offering free learning credits for this and selected other courses. Credits are available by request, at no charge beyond the course registration fee, contingent on completing the entire course and a brief post-course quiz. American Trails is a certified provider, and you may request credits for:
American Institute of Certified Planners Continuing Maintenance (AICP CM)
Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System (LA CES PDH)
CEU/PDH equivalency petition for other accepting organizations
The Trail Towns 101 course provides 6.00 CM | 6.00 LA CES NON-HSW | 0.60 CEU/6.00 PDH Equivalency Petition, for the main course only.
Jumpstart your learning
TRAIL TOWNS 101 PRE-COURSE ACCELERATOR (OPTIONAL ADD-ON)
The Pre-Course Accelerator is an exclusive, small-group experience designed to jumpstart your journey toward building successful trail towns. Guided by instructors Amy Camp and Michele Archie, the accelerator provides you with essential tools, deeper insights, and meaningful connections—all before the main course begins in February 2025.
Accelerator Highlights:
Free Book: Receive a copy of Deciding On Trails: 7 Practices of Healthy Trail Towns, authored by course instructor, Amy Camp. This book will enrich your understanding and inspire your initiatives.
Exclusive, In-Depth Sessions: Engage in three interactive, small-group sessions between September 2024 and January 2025 to delve deeply into trail town strategies and hands-on tools.
Trail Town Assessment Mastery: Master the art of conducting a comprehensive Trail Town Assessment and learn how to apply it to your community. Gain practical insights, actionable feedback, and explore methods to identify action priorities, track progress, and involve others.
Community Building: Form lasting connections with trail town enthusiasts and local leaders who share your passion for supercharging their communities’ relationship to trails.
Session Overview:
Session #1 (Sept. 24, 2024): Meet your cohort, share trail town stories and challenges, and explore the Trail Town Assessment methodology. Homework: Conduct the Trail Town Assessment in your community or with other communities along the trail.
Session #2 (Dec. 3, 2024): Debrief on your assessment experience, explore practical techniques to harvest and organize assessment insights and use them as a baseline for tracking progress. Homework: Identify key insights and action priorities from your assessment.
Session #3 (Jan. 14, 2025): Share assessment findings, gain fresh perspectives from fellow participants, and receive coaching from instructors to turn insights into actionable plans. Prepare for the main course starting February 4, 2025.
This is a unique opportunity to gain invaluable insights and form meaningful connections with other communities.
How to Register for the Accelerator
Eligibility: The accelerator is available exclusively to those registered for the Trail Towns 101 course.
Special Offers:
Sign up for the course by July 31 and join the accelerator free.
Enjoy a 20% early registration discount from August 1-31.
Deadline: Registration for the accelerator closes on September 13, 2024.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to gain early, invaluable insights and form meaningful connections with other communities.