Trail Mapping Websites

If you're looking for a great trail, you will find an incredible selection of trail-mapping websites available. Not only do these sites allow you to map your own bike ride, trail run, or hike, they also allow you to access trail information provided by other users.

Following is a briefly annotated list of trail mapping websites:

• Ride with GPS - a site to help cyclists plan bike rides and find routes in their area
• Ride Dog- designed to help bicyclists find, map, & share cycling routes worldwide
• gpsies - allows outdoor recreationalists to create "tracks" and view those of others
• alltrails - Share your own trail information & explore over 40,000 trails & trail reviews
• fitgroups - Plan group rides & hikes in your neck of the woods.
• biketrippin - Use BikeTrippin to journal, track progress, & upload photos.
• trailpedia - a collection of trail descriptions that have been submitted by registered contributors.
• routebuddy - a UK-based developer of GPS-enabled mapping software
• sports-tracker - Turns your mobile device into a social sports computer.
• sportypal - Log & map your run, bike ride, walk, or inline skate experience.
• Everytrail - Create and view trail trips and trail guides.

Most of the above websites/apps can be used to monitor your own activity, share your trail experience, and view the trail activities of other users. Basically, they are interactive versions of such trail location sites as traillink, trailsnet, and Trails.com.

Trail Mapping Websites

Dirty Bismarck Loop - Funny Name, Great Trail

I love it when they connect a bunch of shorter trails to make a longer one... or better yet, to make a loop trail.

That's just what they've done in Superior, Colorado when they added the brand new Meadowlark Trail to the Singletree Trail, the Cowdrey Draw Trail, the Marshall Mesa Trail, the Community Ditch Trail, and the  High Plains Trail. They created a loop of  a little over 12 miles of moderate mountain biking trail to form the Dirty Bismarck Loop trail.

Marshall Mesa Trail portion
of the Dirty Bismarck Loop

I've been riding portions of this loop for many years, but alas, I had to ride on the dreaded road for portions of it. So I was ecstatic when they finally completed the Meadowlark Trail to make a complete, roadless bike loop trail.

Since it was just a semi-formal loop before, some of us called it the Happy Meal Loop. I'm not sure why, but I am sure why they have now named it the Dirty Bismarck Loop. It's named after the old road bike racing course that was originally called the Morgul-Bismarck Classic. Then it was called the Coors Classic, then the Celestial Seasonings Classic, then...

Well, eventually the race was eliminated from the circuit. But the long and short of it is that this new mountain bike loop follows the same general inside track of the old Morgul-Bismarck bike race. And it's a great biking loop trail. It's possible to ride this loop without ever crossing a paved road, even if you start from Louisville or Lafayette Colorado and ride in from the Coal Creek Trail.

Interesting side note... Even though the trail starts and ends in Superior, Colorado, residents of the new portion of that town will have to cross a major road to get to the trail while residents of nearby communities can utilize the Coal Creek underpass to avoid crossing McCaslin Blvd.

Dirty Bismarck Loop - Funny Name, Great Trail

Connecting Rail Trails to make Super Rail-Trails

Super Rail-Trails

Rail trails are fantastic. But how do you turn an ordinary, every-day rail trail (if such a thing exists) into SUPER TRAIL!!!
 It's really quite simple; you just connect two good trails and you get one great trail.  Here are some examples:

C & O Canal trail connects to the
  GAP trail, the Western Maryland Rail Trail,
and the Mount Vernon Trail.

• Silver Comet Trail + Chief Ladiga Trail = Super Trail
• New Santa Fe Trail + Pikes Peak Greenway Trail = Megatrail
• GAP trail + C & O Canal Towpath trail = Mighty Trail

So the next time you're looking for a great rail trail; one you can plan a vacation around...

Check out which trails can be connected to make a super trail.

Connecting Rail Trails to make Super Rail-Trails

Ammonoosuc Rail Trail in New Hampshire

I just published another Everytrail Guide.

This one is on the Ammonoosuc Rail Trail in New Hampshire: Funny name, great trail!

There are two places for you to find out more info about the Ammonoosuc Rail Trail:

1. Check out the new Ammonoosuc Rail Trail guide on Everytrail: This is especially useful if you want to ride the trail. It will allow you to download the complete guide along w/ a map, points of interest, supplementary websites, photos, directions to the trail, and more.
2. Or you can visit the trailsnet Ammonoosuc page and see a trail description with photos, a map, and a summary of the trail's vital statistics. 

Ammonoosuc Rail Trail in New Hampshire