Trail Towns

Pure Michigan® Trail and Trail Town Designation Program

In partnership with Pure Michigan®, the MDNR highlights some of the state’s best trails, water trails and trail towns through the Pure Michigan® Trail and Trail Town Designation Program. This program is designed to acknowledge Michigan’s position as the nation’s Trails State. Find information on how and when to apply in the Handbook.

• Pure Michigan® Trail and Trail Town Designation Program Application Handbook
• Capturing Trail-Based Tourism: A manual for communities along the North Central State Trail on how communities can utilize the long, linear, multi-jurisdictional non-motorized trail to support tourism and future business and economic development opportunities.

National Trail Town Programs

• Trail Town Program: This is the oldest and most successful Trail Town Program, an initiative of The Progress Fund. This works in small rural towns across western Pennsylvania and western Maryland, focusing on community and economic development around trail tourism and outdoor recreation to ensure that trail communities and businesses maximize the economic potential of the regions trails.
• Capturing Trail-Based Tourism: A guide for communities in Pennsylvania to enhance a community that already has a trail in or near it. It focuses on communities near nonmotorized, multiple purpose trails, such as towpaths and rail trails.
• Leveraging Your Existing Trail System for Community and Economic Development: An outline of the four-point approach used by the Allegheny Trail Alliance to establish a successful Trail Town program.