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

Idaho trails featured in latest Everytrail guides

The Trail of the Couer d' Alenes, a paved path that runs for 72 miles from the backwoods of northern Idaho to the shores of beautiful Lake Couer d' Alene is one of two featured trails on both Everytrail and trailsnet.com.

Bikers rest outside one of ten tunnels
 found along the Route of the Hiawatha
  bicycle trail in northern Idaho.

This trail is famous for it's perfectly sloped grade and smooth surface. It is ideal for inline skating, recumbent cycles, bikes, and Trikkes. If your idea of a good time is bumping and bouncing over tree roots, rocks, and ruts or constantly avoiding deadly encounters with cars, then you might not like this trail. But For the rest of us, the Trail of the Couer d' Alenes is paradise on earth.

The other trail featured this month is the Route of the Hiawatha, another great northern Idaho trail. It is not paved, like the Couer d' alene trail, but it has some of the greatest trail tunnels and trestles anywhere in the world. It is also rife with wildlife, history, and bodacious scenery.

Visit trailsnet and Everytrail to view these two great Idaho trails and start planning your trail trip today.

Idaho trails featured in latest Everytrail guides

Sunny Skies on the Trail

Everyone's talking about the weather, but thank God nobody is doing anything about it.

I happen to be blessed w/ great "vacation weather." Okay, I'll knock on wood, but so far, I always have good weather on holidays. And my trail trips are no exception.

For example on my last trip to the Silver Comet Trail in Georgia and the Chief Ladiga Trail in Alabama, it rained the day before I got there and the day I left. But every day on the trail was sunny and beautiful.

On my upcoming trip to the Tammany Trace Trail in Louisiana and the Longleaf Trace Trail in Mississippi, the weather is supposed to be... you guessed it: sunny and beautiful.

I think it's a sign that I was destined to travel and explore trails throughout the world. Mother Nature is giving me her blessing. "Go forth, my son, and discover new trails and report them to the world on trailsnet.com.

Either that or I'm just lucky.

Sunny Skies on the Trail