We make sure that bikes are considered in new projects, encourage communities across city lines to pursue funding together, support ballot initiatives dedicated to outdoor recreation, andlobby for federal funding for path and trail development.

We support local groups focused on increasing outdoor participation, help cities rethink how to provide more opportunities for close-to-home bike riding, foster the development of pocket bike parks and force the prioritization of bike trails and parks in underserved communities.

We work with state departments of transportation to add or improve shoulders on major county and state arterial roads, work to require that funding for highway projects is contingent on adding/improving shoulders, and ask state departments of transportation to prioritize road improvements that improve bicyclists safety and benefit bike riders.

We help prioritize projects that serve historically underserved and disinvested communities, advance bills that provide financial incentives to recreate by bike, connect bike riding with health and wellness outcomes, force equity considerations in planning and value electric bicycle access on the same level as traditional bikes.

Bike riding opportunities in rural, non-urban areas are revenue raisers for local communities through tourism. We support funding and policy measures that help build out trail systems, connected bike networks and the infrastructure needed to cater to visitors and residents alike.

From recreational amenities like pump tracks and singletrack trail systems to on-street protected bike lanes and bike parking, we know that safe and accessible bike infrastructure is critical to helping people of all ages and abilities enjoy bicycling in their communities. With the goal of getting more projects over the finish line, PeopleForBikes is proud to announce the opening of our 2023 Industry Community Grant applications.

Our grants are intended to support infrastructure that improves a community’s City Ratings score by building connections in low-stress bikeway networks or by improving opportunities for close-to-home recreation. Grants should support the material costs of infrastructure construction or non-material costs directly related and necessary to getting infrastructure built. PeopleForBikes’ industry grants range from $5,000 to $10,000 and our priority is to support efforts where grants of that magnitude make a difference, especially in support of communities impacted by historic disinvestment. 

Previous awards supported the construction of a bike park in El Paso, TX; the conversion of a tennis court into a bike garden in Flint, MI; the organization of protected bikeways in Durham, NC; the building of trails in Gorham, NH, to connect a mountain bike network to the downtown area; and an advocacy campaign in Salem, OR, to create safe, direct, and protected bike infrastructure.

Investments that build or result in permanent physical infrastructure such as protected bike lanes, neighborhood greenways/bike boulevards, bike paths, pump tracks, bike parks, recreational trail systems, or public bike parking.

Investments in temporary physical infrastructure, such as “quick-build projects” that demonstrate potential infrastructural improvements that are intended to eventually result in permanent infrastructure.

Support for organizing efforts or cultural initiatives that build support for specific bike infrastructure projects. Such proposals must show how the support will result in permanent infrastructural improvements. 

Maintenance or operating costs, Cycling education programs, unless education is an element of an event designed to bring attention to an infrastructure project 

Bike recycling, repair, or earn-a-bike programs

Non-profit organizations, including organizations relying upon a fiscal sponsor for their nonprofit status 

Local or state government agencies or federal agencies working locally 

Small businesses, such as bicycle retailers and community-oriented businesses that serve disadvantaged communities

1. Submit a Letter of Interest by October 20, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Only applications submitted through the online form will be accepted. Applicants may revise their submission as many times as they like until the deadline. 

2. Applicants will be notified of the status of their application by November 1, 2023. Finalists will be invited to submit a full application, also using an online form.

3. Final applications are due by November 20, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. PT. 

4. Awards will be announced in early December 2023.

If you have any questions about the grant process, please email infrastructure@peopleforbikes.org. 


PeopleForBikes’ Industry Community Grants program is funded through employee pro purchases, which collect donations from individuals who work in the bike industry and take advantage of pro-pricing discounts on new bikes and equipment. Does your company offer industry pro deals or discounts for athletes, retail staff, and industry employees? Give your customers an opportunity to donate to PeopleForBikes at checkout. For details, visit peopleforbikes.org/giving or email Rod Judd, PeopleForBikes’ director of membership and industry engagement.

Thank you to these brands that currently participate:

Apply for a 2023 PeopleForBikes Industry Community Grant

In late July, PeopleForBikes unveiled our newest groundbreaking initiative: The Great Bike Infrastructure Project. This ambitious program will transform communities by advancing pro-bike policies and thousands of bike infrastructure projects in all 50 states, making biking safer and more accessible for everyone.

In the coming months, we’ll take a deeper dive into the specific projects and policies included in the Great Bike Infrastructure Project. For now, read on for a high-level overview of the program. 

At the heart of this new program is a national database featuring an interactive map and list of more than 1,000 bicycle infrastructure projects across the United States. The tool tracks crucial information including each project’s status, state and local advocacy organizations supporting the project, and links to learn more. This first-of-its-kind, easily accessible resource will help people learn about projects in their communities — like bike trails, shared-use paths, protected bike lanes, bike parks, and more — and help ensure they get funded and built. 

Local advocacy efforts are often required to advance these projects, and we encourage you to check out the projects in your area and contact the linked state and local advocacy organizations to learn how you can support getting those projects across the finish line. If you’d like to add a project to our database or correct the details of an existing project, please visit our FAQ page. 

Legislative Strategies for Bike Infrastructure

As part of the Great Bike Infrastructure Project, PeopleForBikes also created a Legislative Guide to assist policymakers and advocates in expanding bike infrastructure for transportation and recreation. As we work to make the U.S. the best place in the world to ride a bike, this comprehensive guide outlines the four most effective legislative approaches to accelerate the construction of safe and connected places to ride. 

The guide includes legislative examples from a variety of communities and states, with tips on adjusting policies to suit your own community’s needs. To help advance these policies in your community, we also included links to existing legislative language to use when crafting your own bills. 

While there is now an unprecedented amount of federal funding available for bike infrastructure, state and local funding are vital to propel more projects forward and provide the 20-50% local match required for most federal grants. Our guide offers examples of more than a dozen different state and local funding mechanisms for bike infrastructure ranging from Tax Increment Financing districts to sales tax revenue and everything in between.

One of the key strategies for advancing bike infrastructure is the implementation of Complete Streets mandates. Complete Streets ensure that all road users, including people walking, rolling, biking, and using transit, have safe and accessible ways to get where they want to go. Our guide provides examples of legislation that include strong and specific requirements for creating Complete Streets, limited exceptions, and clear roles and responsibilities to make Complete Streets mandates effective.

Advance Bike Infrastructure Through Climate Legislation

Our guide emphasizes how state and local climate legislation can facilitate the construction of bike projects. Including bike infrastructure in climate legislation can help reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions, ultimately contributing to serious environmental and fiscal benefits for communities. Our guide highlights examples of climate legislation in Minnesota, Washington, Rhode Island, and Hawaii, with specific examples of the most effective pieces.

Making streets safer for people riding bikes is paramount to encouraging biking as a mode of transportation and recreation. The guide highlights several strategies for local communities and states to achieve safer streets by reducing traffic speeds, banning right turns on red, and adopting modern design standards. 

PeopleForBikes invites bike industry members, advocates, policymakers, and everyday riders to join us in creating more liveable communities by helping advance pro-bike legislation and bike infrastructure right in your backyard. Together, we can build a vibrant, healthier, and more sustainable future for all.

For more information about PeopleForBikes’ Great Bike Infrastructure Project, visit infrastructure.peopleforbikes.org.

Introducing the Great Bike Infrastructure Project

In late May, Annette Clapsaddle, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and author, welcomed an intimate group of tribal leaders, federal land managers, and recreational advocates to Cherokee, North Carolina, for the inaugural Recreational Trails Workshop.  In her welcome to the group, Clapsaddle focused on the land where her ancestors have lived for generations and shared her experiences enjoying the multi-use trails of Fire Mountain, which were built by the tribe for all to enjoy. 

“These mountains are a special place because our ancestors have been protecting, safeguarding, and loving this place for generations,” says Clapsaddle. “When we talk about generations, we learn from the generations before who have adapted and innovated and we’re learning from seven generations ahead of us.” 

The Recreational Trails Workshop was a first-of-its-kind gathering hosted by PeopleForBikes in partnership with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in a mountainous and forested area best known as the Qualla Boundary. The goal of the workshop was to explore opportunities and challenges associated with recreational access and economic development on tribal and public lands. Participants included representatives from four different tribal nations, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, and the International Mountain Bike Association. 

“Never have we been able to coordinate and corral so many different tribal perspectives into one room,” says Jeremy Hyatt, secretary of operations with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. “Being able to have meaningful discourse with other tribal nations that are pushing cycling initiatives, along with our friends and partners in the recreational space and industry, was extremely rewarding.” 

Hyatt is the person behind the creation and operation of the Fire Mountain Trail System in Cherokee, a trail system that includes more than 11 miles of multi-use trails for mountain bikers and hikers. The Fire Mountain Trail System was an excellent case study for participants to explore during the workshop, with Hyatt noting that, “the exchange of ideas and perspectives was incredible, and will bear fruit in the immediate future for Cherokee and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.”

During the workshop, PeopleForBikes eMTB Policy and Program Manager Rachel Fussell, as well as E-Bike Policy and Campaign Director Dr. Ash Lovell, facilitated discussions with the group exploring how participants could learn from one another and find shared solutions. The discussions prioritized the perspectives of tribal leaders so that all participants could better understand the opportunities and challenges these communities face and how they differ across the country. By bringing together diverse groups of stakeholders, events like the Recreational Trails Workshop can help break down some of the silos that currently exist in the recreation space. 

As the demand for outdoor recreational opportunities continues to grow, these inclusive conversations have the potential to create innovative solutions to shared challenges. For example, Adrian Herder, who attended the gathering as a representative from Rezduro, an indigenous-led mountain bike enduro race, and as a member of the Navajo Nation, shared his thoughts on why the workshop was valuable. “The benefit of the workshop for us in relation to the work we're doing on Navajo is that we were able to share our struggles and strengths with those unfamiliar with rural mountain bike organizing on tribal reservations,” says Herder. “We finally met the folks behind Fire Mountain Trails and saw the trails ourselves.” 

After the workshop concluded, Herder noted that he left the meeting with ideas and potential future partnerships. “The big takeaway from our time together would be meeting and potentially partnering with other tribal nations doing similar work,” says Herder. “We may come from different lived experiences, but we're all working to get more of our people on bikes while increasing the representation in this predominantly white space. I want to thank all the non-BIPOC folks for listening to what we had to say and hopefully offering support or connections to help us in our efforts in the future. Ahéhee' [Thank you]!” 

In addition to hosting this workshop and other events related to recreational access, PeopleForBikes is developing a tool to measure access to recreational bicycling facilities across the country. The recreational bicycle network analysis will quantify the quality and access of trails similar to how PeopleForBikes’ Bicycle Network Analysis measures the quality of urban bike networks for everyday transportation. From remote gravel roads to bike parks in city centers, the tool will catalog recreational bicycling facilities around the country and help guide investments for new facilities. REI is generously funding the development of the tool, which will be released in spring 2024.

Learnings From the Inaugural Recreational Trails Workshop

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees 245 million acres of land, the most of any governing entity in the United States. That expanse, spread across all 50 states, spans diverse communities and ecosystems that offer spectacular vistas, irreplaceable cultural resources, critical wildlife habitat, sources of clean water, world-class recreational opportunities, and the potential to combat climate change. 

To protect that land for future generations, the BLM opened a public comment period on March 30, 2023, for the newly proposed Public Lands Rule. If enacted, this rule would add "conservation" to the agency's mandate of multiple uses of public lands, elevating conservation — or the preservation, protection, or restoration of the natural environment and wildlife — as legitimate use. The proposed rule strives to address shortcomings in management related to land health to better ensure the "health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations." 

On the millions of acres that BLM oversees, year-round recreational opportunities entice more than 80 million recreation visits annually. This land also boasts some of our nation’s most iconic mountain bike trails and a large and growing number of electric mountain bike trails. Recreation and tourism on BLM lands contribute $11.4 billion to local, often rural communities, and the overall national economy. The BLM offers unique and unparalleled access as a land management agency for mountain bikers and recreationists of all stripes.

PeopleForBikes backs the conservation efforts needed to slow the effects of climate change, which could alter or prohibit current and future generations from enjoying the benefits of biking and other forms of outdoor recreation on public lands. A report from our partners at Protect Our Winters highlights the damaging effects of climate change on mountain biking trails, ranging from pest infestations to erosion to wildfires.

With climate change increasingly affecting our nation’s public lands and the growing importance of these spaces for recreation, the proposed rule would help protect abundant and well-connected wildlife habitat, world-class recreational access, as well as tourism and recreation-related revenue for local economies. 

PeopleForBikes believes conservation and outdoor recreation are intricately linked and are compatible for the following reasons:

Recreation paired with conservation supports the health and vitality of outdoor spaces and contributes to ecosystem services such as clean air and water, as well as long-term access to beautiful spaces for everyone to enjoy. 

Recreation is conservation, as well-built and maintained outdoor recreation infrastructure such as mountain bike trails can help protect sensitive ecosystems and conserve the surrounding land. 

Recreation allows more people to enjoy the outdoors, which in turn can promote lifelong sustainable behavior. We know from medical science that being outdoors is good for your physical and mental health, but research has also increasingly found that it can be good for the outdoors as well. Increasing emotional affinity towards nature motivates behaviors that protect nature — the more time people spend outdoors, the more our community of outdoor advocates grows. 

Recreation in tandem with conservation preserves the spaces in which we love to recreate, as outdoor recreation requires space for trails and outdoor amenities for people and wildlife to enjoy together.

PeopleForBikes supports the adoption of regulations that put watersheds, cultural resources and landscapes, wildlife habitat, and outdoor recreation interests on equal footing with other land use priorities. Only by doing so can we safeguard our public lands from the consequences of climate change while ensuring their health and accessibility for future generations. 

In our comments, we’re asking the BLM to take a balanced approach to ensure recreation and an expanded focus on conservation go hand in hand. We have a few uncertainties on how the new rule could affect recreation access on BLM-managed lands and specifically, on how mountain biking will fare in this process over time.

You can read PeopleForBikes’ full comments in support of the Public Lands Rule here. 

PeopleForBikes had the opportunity to comment on the Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the use of electric bicycles within the National Park System. PeopleForBikes supports the proposed action (preferred alternative) outlined in the PEA because we support allowing electric bicycle use where regular bicycles are allowed and more specifically, we support Class 1 electric mountain bike access where regular mountain bicycles are allowed on natural surface trails. 

You can read PeopleForBikes' full comments in support of the proposed action here.

New Framework Aims to Conserve Our Public Lands

We’re just halfway through 2023 and there are already notable legislative achievements for bicycles from every corner of the country. States have made commendable strides in promoting safety for vulnerable road users, investing in sustainable infrastructure, combating climate change, and expanding access to outdoor recreation opportunities.

New Laws to Improve Safety for Bicyclists and Pedestrians

Arizona: Advocates successfully opposed Senate Bill 1313,Senate Bill 1312, and Senate Bill 1314, which collectively threatened to remove bike-related requirements from city plans and hinder the tracking of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and climate reduction goals. These victories ensure that Arizona can continue promoting multi-modal transportation and climate-conscious urban planning, preserving essential tools for sustainable communities.

Maryland: The passage of House Bill 70, known as the Safe Access for All (SAFE) Roads Act of 2023, will improve pedestrian and bicycle safety. The legislation requires the Maryland Department of Transportation to prioritize incremental safety improvements for pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure projects, ensuring timely implementation even if the projects themselves take more than 12 months to complete.

Minnesota: Embracing the "Idaho Stop" concept, Minnesota is now the latest state to legalize a more practical approach for bicyclists at stop signs. This change allows bicyclists to proceed without a full stop if there are no vehicles nearby, provided they slow down and are prepared to stop if necessary. 

Illinois: House Bill 2131 will create a statewide task force to chart a pathway toward eliminating traffic deaths. Additionally, Senate Bill 2278 will address a shortcoming in Illinois law by allowing cities and towns to protect their residents by building safer intersections.

Missouri: Senate Bill 398 includes the "Siddens Bening Hands Free Law" which will prohibit texting and the use of other electronic devices while driving. 

New Infrastructure Planning for Active Transportation Laws

New York: Assembly Bill 602 addresses the responsibility of the state for federally assisted projects. This legislation ensures effective planning and coordination between the state transportation commissioner and affected municipalities by estimating costs associated with various infrastructure projects, including highways, roads, streets, bicycle paths, and pedestrian paths.

Washington: Senate Bill 5452 authorizes the use of impact fee revenue to fund improvements to bicycle and pedestrian facilities. This new law enables communities to utilize fees charged to developers for the enhancement of bike infrastructure to support multimodal commuting and create a more sustainable transportation system.

Virginia: House Bill 1510 authorizes localities to grant tax incentives or provide regulatory flexibility to encourage the preservation, restoration, or development of urban green space including greenways.  

New Climate Action and Emissions Reduction Laws

Minnesota: The Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions Impact Assessment bill sets forth requirements for state agencies to track and minimize greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with statewide reduction goals. The legislation mandates the evaluation of emissions impact for transportation plans and roadway expansion projects, offering mitigation measures such as expanding transit services or constructing new bike lanes.

Washington: The passage of House Bill 1181 mandates medium and large cities to consider climate change in their comprehensive plans. This legislation encourages the development of strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled, prioritizing the creation of connected bike networks and implementing bike-friendly zoning codes for sustainable transportation alternatives.

New Recreation and Trail Connectivity Laws

Colorado: Senate Bill 059 provides funding to local governments for improved access to state-owned outdoor recreational areas. This appropriation will help build infrastructure that grows recreational opportunities for residents and visitors alike.

Florida: Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill allocating $200 million to connect hiking and biking trails to a planned statewide wildlife corridor. This investment expands Florida's Greenways and Trails System and the SUN Trail Network, aiming to link 18 million acres of land from the Florida Keys to the Panhandle.

New Electric Bicycle Access and Regulations


PeopleForBikes' model electric bicycle legislation has gained widespread acceptance, with 41 states adopting the three-class system as a framework for regulation. In 2023, New Mexico, Nebraska, and West Virginia clarified their e-bike laws, defining the three classes of electric bicycles and aligning regulations with those for traditional bicycles. These legislative advancements simplify the rules for retailers, riders, and decision-makers while encouraging the use of e-bikes as a sustainable transportation option. Additionally, the West Virginia e-bike bill allows for Class 1 and 2 on non-motorized, natural surface trails where traditional bicycles are allowed.

Taken as a whole, these legislative achievements demonstrate an increasing nationwide emphasis on bicycles as a tool to advance safety, sustainable infrastructure, climate action, and accessible recreation. By enacting laws that protect vulnerable road users, support active transportation, reduce emissions, and expand access to the outdoors, states are paving the way for a more resilient, healthy, and enjoyable future. 

Legislative Bike Triumphs: A 2023 Mid-Year Review

For the first time since our City Ratings program launched seven years ago, Minneapolis, Minnesota, tops the list of the best large U.S. cities for bicycling with a score of 68. In 2022, the city’s score hovered in the 30s, and its leap to number one speaks to a number of notable changes. 

First, Minneapolis’ data received a massive update — while that’s not the most exciting reason, it’s essential. Our scoring system is informed using data from OpenStreetMap, which is essentially the Wikipedia of street maps, meaning anyone can edit it. If a city’s data in OpenStreetMap doesn’t adequately reflect the breadth and/or quality of the city’s on-the-ground infrastructure, then its corresponding City Ratings score will be lower. Thanks to updates to its OpenStreetMap data, Minneapolis saw its score rise.

That being said, the midwestern city, home to a population of about 425,336 people, has also made huge strides in building out the safe, connected bicycle infrastructure that demands OpenStreetMap updates — and defines the world’s best places to ride. 

“What's really unique about Minneapolis — what's different than many of the other notable cities for bicycling in North America — is that the backbone of our network is probably one of the best urban trail networks in the country,” says Luke Hanson, a senior transportation planner for the city. “Minneapolis' status as one of the top cities for bicycling is both a combination of strategic multimodal investments that include that kind of urban trail network, as well as deliberate complimentary policy guidance over time. Those pieces go hand in hand to create our current bike network.”

A key component of Minneapolis’ cycling urban trail network is the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, a continuous, 51-mile loop of off-street bike trails that traverses the entire city. For more than 100 years, the byway has been a recreational and transportation resource for people biking, walking, and rolling — a historical network that the city has been able to build off of over time with strategic and complimentary investments primarily along former rail corridors. That includes the Midtown Greenway, the Cedar Lake Trail, the Hiawatha LRT Trail, and the Dinkytown Greenway, which are all repurposed, grade-separated trails that avoid conflicts with motor vehicles and connect some of the most important destinations in the city. 

“All of this has been augmented by a series of initially painted buffered bicycle boulevard facilities throughout the city that provided network-level connectivity,” says Hanson. “More recently, many of these facilities have been improved by transitioning them from traditional unprotected bike lanes to protected facilities in a variety of different design types, utilizing things like protected intersection design and other tools we have available to us.”

Hanson is quick to point to the various policies that have helped Minneapolis develop one of the country’s most robust bicycle networks: its 2011 Bicycle Master Plan, 2013 Climate Action Plan, and 2015 Protected Bikeway Update to the Bicycle Master Plan. The 2015 plan outlined a long-term objective of creating 174 miles of protected bike lanes as part of the city's bike network. In 2019, the city also conducted a neighborhood greenway study to look at ways to transition traditional bike boulevards to make them more comfortable, safer, and more appealing to a wider group of people. Finally, the city’s 2020 Transportation Action Plan provides policy guidance to continue implementing protected and safe bike facilities throughout the city.

Minneapolis currently boasts 21 miles of on-street protected bike lanes and 106 miles of off-street sidewalk and trail miles. By 2030, the goal is to have 141 miles of newer, upgraded all ages and ability bikeways throughout the city, along with a micromobility mode share of 10% (the Climate Action Plan outlines a long-term goal of raising the bicycle commute mode share to 15%). Unfortunately, the loss of the city’s Nice Ride bike share system earlier this year complicates that vision (and is arguably a huge oversight on the part of the city).

“[Mass mode shift] is still a goal and it’s important to work towards that even with the challenge of not having a reliable bike share system,” says Hanson. “What we're trying to establish is a complimentary transportation network where people have options beyond just driving and single occupancy vehicles. In addition to transit, we're thinking through walking, biking, rolling, and other methods to make sure people have transportation options and choices to help us get to those mode shift goals. Marketing is important but we’re reinforcing that with infrastructure.”

Other complementary policies, such as redesigning intersections and reducing speeds, play an equally important role. In 2020, Minneapolis and its twin city St. Paul lowered their default speed limits, switching from 30 to 20 mph on residential streets and 25 mph for larger, arterial, city-owned streets. Lowering speed limits aligns with Minneapolis’ Vision Zero work by reducing the likelihood of crashes and the likelihood of a crash leading to serious injuries or death. Since lower speeds are critically important in places where people are walking, rolling, and biking — which is most locations in Minneapolis — they correspond with higher City Ratings scores.

“Lowering speed limits is a tool but we're also using street design to compliment those lower posted speed limits,” says Hanson. “Traffic calming measures such as raised crossings, speed humps, speed cushions, medians, and narrowing roadways are equally important. Even if they’re not explicitly a bike project per se, they make it safer and more comfortable for people to bike.”

Other things Minneapolis is doing well include leveraging federal grants to fund projects, taking advantage of street resurfacing projects to upgrade infrastructure, and creating a brand new Street Design Guide. According to Hanson, in addition to providing guidance on what an all ages and abilities bikeway should look like, the guide also includes guidance on when to install them (the short answer: on any major throughway undergoing reconstruction). Notably, the city also eliminated parking minimums and made the choice to transition away from single-family housing, choices that contribute to better cities for cycling (it also helps that Minnesota is progressive when it comes to its state transportation policy).

“It's not as simple as the silo of transportation infrastructure — these things build upon one another to make a functional, practical system for people to rely on and use,” says Hanson. “It’s important to acknowledge that there are a lot of additional projects that aren’t bike-specific that work to make biking safer and more comfortable.”

Having worked on bike projects for more than a decade, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Hanson himself is a regular cyclist, relying on his bike for most trips. He credits the local bike culture as a major contributing factor to what makes Minneapolis such a great place to bike. On any given week, there are dozens of social rides throughout the city, including non-drop rides, family-friendly outings, and meet-ups for identity-specific groups. There are organizations that empower people to be comfortable on their bikes through all four seasons, as well as Grease Rag and other groups that provide inclusive environments for bicycle education.

Hanson also credits local advocacy groups and community-based organizations with helping create a safer, more comfortable, and more equitable environment for bicycling. 

“We've found a lot of value in partnering with established community groups and organizations to perform better, more meaningful project engagement,” says Hanson. “Doing so allows us as city staff to better build relationships with residents through trusted community members. Meaningful relationships are a really, really important resource for us.”

In recent years, Minneapolis has also been the site of racial unrest and the need to connect with and prioritize the needs of historically underserved communities has been pushed to the forefront. The city recently created a Racial Equity Framework for Transportation, which acknowledges that certain populations and geographies in the city have borne the brunt of displacement, pollution, and a slew of other outcomes directly tied to an inequitable transportation system. Importantly, this framework can help city planners be strategic and prioritize transportation investments in those same communities.

Hand in hand with those investments is a tangible plan for lowering barriers to bicycling through youth education. Currently, Minneapolis Public Schools are rolling out universal bike education for fourth and fifth graders in two-thirds of the city’s public schools, with plans for it to eventually be district-wide. After all, an all ages and abilities bike network only benefits youth that know how to ride.

“In the last few years, I think we’ve made some really meaningful progress,” says Hanson. “And I also appreciate that there’s always ongoing work to do.”

How Minneapolis Became a Top U.S. Bike City

Growing up as one of the first international adoptees in West Virginia, Mia Fox did not have role models who looked like her in the community, let alone in bicycling. “My parents got me involved in wonderful activities like music and dance,” says Fox. “ I never got to explore sports because I didn't even know that those opportunities were at my fingertips.”

Today, Mia is changing that. As the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) Girls Riding Together (GRiT) coordinator in West Virginia, Mia is making sure other girls see themselves reflected in the sport and getting on bikes. And she’s seeing results: NICA West Virginia has one of the highest female participation rates in the United States.

“Women and minority groups are out there,” says Fox. “It's critical to connect with schools, local organizations, churches, nonprofits, and the community. Exposure and connection is key.”

GRiT is NICA’s focused effort to get more girls and women into bicycling, with reports showing that girls make up just 20% of NICA participants around the country. Already, with a 34.1% participation rate, West Virginia is surpassing NICA’s national goal for female student-athlete and coach participation rates of 33% by the end of 2023. 

GRiT coordinators plan girls-only events, rides, camps, clinics, and socializing opportunities with a concentrated effort on reaching historically marginalized groups.  “Monthly calls with GRiT coordinators empower each state to formulate ideas, plans, and activities,” says Fox. “Coordinators for each state go out into their communities to draw in those groups.”

Outreach from coordinators is key to reaching new NICA participants, as is elevating youth voices. GRIT coordinators and ambassadors go to schools, nonprofit afterschool programs, churches, and other community-centered locations to showcase the GRiT program. The young GRiT ambassadors are encouraged to share their passion for riding, inviting their classmates and communities to experience the joys and experiences that mountain bikes provide.

“We really listen to our female student-athletes,” says Fox. “They really like scavenger hunts, overnight sleepaway camp, and riding two or three miles while talking the entire time.” 

An avid cyclist, Fox was already organizing Moms on Bikes (MOBS) rides in Charleston, West Virginia, prior to joining the NICA team. As NICA began encouraging more female coaches, MOBS became a great place to recruit new coaches. 

“Once you get the moms to feel empowered and see that trails we’re riding are not scary, they come back the next week,” says Fox. “We show them what we’re teaching the kids to do and that’s how we get them to be coaches.”

Early on, many moms share how they haven’t ridden a bike since childhood. “We take them out on a beginner flow trail and that’s how we flip the switch,” says Fox. “They’re riding the trails, overcoming their fears, and experiencing joy. We ‘coach’ them before our season starts, helping them feel empowered and helping them to become level one coaches.” By the end, many of the daughters start joining the MOBS rides, bringing the experience full circle.

In the U.S. and globally, there’s a noted gender gap that exists in bicycling that can be attributed to a variety of physical, cultural and societal barriers. Fox’s work to build female bike ridership is helping achieve gender parity in NICA and beyond. Beyond gender inequalities, NICA is also addressing the income barriers that prevent youth from accessing mountain biking. “We have the Trek Pathfinders scholarship and a GRiT-specific scholarship in West Virginia,” says Fox. Trek Pathfinder scholarships provide student-athletes from historically underrepresented communities with a mountain bike, helmet, shoes, accessories, and a kit, along with a stipend to cover NICA league membership fees and a full season of racing.

As NICA continues to broaden and diversify the sport of bicycling, the West Virginia chapter of GRiT is a strong example of the leadership and coordination it takes to get more girls on bikes. 

“Being a female minority, you gotta see it to believe it,” says Fox. “You have to see somebody you can look up to.”

Interested in GRiT? Click here to see if there is a NICA GRiT program near you. 

Growing Female Ridership in West Virginia

How do we make sure all people can enjoy the benefits of bicycles and the outdoors? One way is to listen to and learn from leaders who create welcoming, inclusive spaces for people with disabilities. April Katz is one of those people. 

Katz is the founder of the Adaptive and Inclusive Recreation Opportunities of Whatcom County (AIROW) Project, which ensures people of all ability levels are able to enjoy outdoor recreation and bicycling in Whatcom County, Washington. AIROW creates inclusive outdoor opportunities for people with disabilities through a range of low-cost or free programming and gear for adaptive sports, from aquatic sports to hikes and adaptive bicycling.

“Every day I wake up and feel very blessed that I’m doing what I love: building community and breaking down barriers [for people with disabilities],” says Katz.  

This spring, the AIROW Project is excited to launch Riding For Focus, a middle school cycling education program from the nonprofit Outride. Unlike many middle schools teaching Riding For Focus throughout the country, which focus on the general population of a single school, AIROW is catering the program to all middle schoolers in Bellingham, Washington, who are neurodivergent, have autism, ADHD, and/or other cognitive challenges. 

“My vision went broad,” says Katz. “Why just do one school when Bellingham has three middle schools that each have life skills classes [or other programs for neurodivergent students]?” 

In order to better suit the youth they work with, Katz and the AIROW team made modifications to Outride’s programming. 

“My coaches and I are taking Outride’s student handbook and adding more visual pictures instead of words so that it gets straight to the point,” says Katz, who’s also completing her Adaptive Level One Instructor Certification from the Bike Instructor Certification Program (BICP). “You have to grab students’ attention immediately if they have ADD or ADHD. I know — I have a learning disability, Dyslexia and Dysgraphia, which are both neurological disorders like Autism and ADHD.”

As they begin teaching Riding For Focus programming this spring, AIROW is prepared to stay flexible and adapt programming to meet student needs. “Will these teenagers need to start off with balance bikes? We’re ready to take off the pedals,” says Katz. “We're excited to see what it’s going to look like — I already have two girls signed up and it hasn’t been advertised yet.”

In addition to working with middle school teachers and the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department to implement Riding For Focus, AIROW is collaborating with the health department to reach people who can directly benefit from its programming. “Department of health case managers are helping us really branch out,” says Katz. AIROW has also attended health and outdoor recreation expositions throughout the state at the request of other counties, speaking to the unmet demand for adaptive outdoor sports opportunities throughout the state and the country. 

“[Acquiring adaptive bikes] continues to be one of our biggest barriers,” says Katz. “I found a recumbent bike for $500 on Craigslist and immediately went to meet the lady selling it.” Although AIROW has a small fleet that includes a handful of adult recumbent bikes and one handcycle, youth bicycling equipment has been even more challenging to acquire. After raising $10,000 at a fundraiser last year, AIROW considered spending it on just one youth handcycle (the cheapest one they could find was $4,500). Ultimately, they decided to instead pay coaches and staff, as well as fund other program needs.

Collaboration with Outdoors For All, a Seattle-based adaptive sports organization with a fleet of more than 200 adaptive bikes, has been central to AIROW’s work. Occasionally, Outdoors For All will lend AIROW handcycles to support youth — it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement, as AIROW is helping reach a new community outside of Seattle. As the years go on, Katz hopes to continue building AIROW’s fleet of adaptive equipment. “Our goal is to have a fleet of bikes just like Outdoors For All,” she says. “As a very small nonprofit, this is something we’re trying to bring awareness to and would love some help.” 

AIROW is actively working with the nearby Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition (WMBC) to identify, advocate for, and improve trail accessibility for adaptive cyclists. Katz and AIROW coaches have worked with the local parks and recreation department to share places where there is limited passing distance or impassable entrance ramps through otherwise locked gates. Together, the AIROW, the WMBC, and the Western Outdoors Center are hosting a Community Accessibility Trail Day on May 21 to continue making Mt. Galbraith, a wildly popular local trail destination, better for all users. 

Interested in getting more kids on bikes in your community? The 2023 Riding For Focus application cycle is accepting applications through April 28, 2023. Click here to learn more. 

Creating a Better World for Adaptive Cyclists

Mountain biking has experienced a meteoric rise in popularity over the last decade thanks in large part to improved bike technology, increased trail infrastructure, and growing interest as a high-school sport. With the emergence of electric pedal-assist mountain bikes, the potential for an even larger segment of the population to enjoy the health benefits of recreation through mountain biking is now within reach. 

While some land managers and trail networks have begun to set policies concerning Class 1 pedal-assist electric mountain bike (eMTB) usage, the direction of future eMTB policies remains largely undetermined. With this in mind, the University of Vermont’s Center for Rural Studies (CRS) set out to study the issue in collaboration with PeopleForBikes and nonprofit trail organization Fellowship of the Wheel. During the 2022 trail season, CRS conducted a pilot study on the use of Class 1 eMTBs on natural surface singletrack trails outside of Hinesburg, Vermont. The goal of the study was to gather more information and better understand perspectives around the inclusion of eMTBs on mountain bike trails.

Fellowship of the Wheel, who hosted the pilot study on their trail system, builds and maintains 100 miles of multi-use trails in Chittenden County, Vermont. For Adam Morse, the organization’s executive director, the discussion of eMTB use on private and public trails is not a new topic. 

“There has been an emerging need to navigate official policies with private and municipal land managers in recent years,” says Morse, adding that land managers and trail organizations have been asking for more data on both environmental and social impacts when introducing eMTBs on their trails. “Our depth of knowledge regarding access was based purely on the thoughts and opinions of a select few, rather than real comprehensive data. This study gives us real data from a broad audience right in our own backyard.” 

For the Hinesburg Town Forest, the research also offers a way forward. “The study has equipped us with multiple perspectives regarding accessibility, safety, etiquette, and physical impacts,” says Morse. “The information collected from this study will be shared with other land managers in our region to best prepare them for all considerations when introducing policies around eMTB access.”

As part of the pilot project study, the use of Class 1 pedal-assist eMTBs were allowed on the multi-use Hinesburg Town Forest trails managed by Fellowship of the Wheel (typically, only traditional mountain bikes are allowed). During this time, CRS created and executed several surveys as part of the project, including the collection of three distinct survey tools. This included an online pre-implementation survey (May), a trail intercept survey (July-September), and four post-implementation focus group surveys (October). These surveys, along with eMTB demo days, were scheduled to gather data regarding user perceptions on diversity and inclusion implications, perceived impacts to physical trail conditions, and potential social impacts related to the introduction of Class 1 eMTBs on non-motorized, multi-use mountain biking trails.

The CRS study provided important insights into eMTB usage in Vermont. Overall, perceptions of eMTB usage were more positive than negative and indicated a general willingness and even motivation to enable further integration of eMTBs into the sport. 

Emergent themes centered around aspects of trail safety, accessibility, physical trail impacts, rider etiquette, and the number of users. Key findings include:

TRAIL ETIQUETTE: Respondents to the intercept survey described the trail etiquette of eMTB riders as generally positive, though less positively than traditional mountain bike riders.

OVERCROWDING: Respondents to the statewide survey also expressed concerns over increased crowding due to eMTB usage. However, focus group discussions noted increased usership generally, outside specifically eMTB use, and noted positive aspects of growth of the sport.

SAFETY: Some respondents to the statewide survey shared concerns about the safety of eMTBs, but participants of the intercept survey were neutral over whether or not eMTB introduction added safety concerns. Focus group discussions reinforced the neutral perspective, which emphasized that it comes down to the decisions of the individual rider, regardless of the bike they are on.

TRAIL IMPACTS: Both statewide and intercept survey results highlighted rider concerns on the physical impact eMTBs have on trails. In the focus groups, participants largely disputed the perception of negative trail impacts from eMTBs but noted that justification for their views was only anecdotal or hypothetical. Participants agreed that more data is needed to back up statements about the physical trail impacts of eMTBs.

ACCESSIBILITY: Intercept survey participants neither agreed nor disagreed that eMTBs make the sport of mountain biking more or less accessible, indicating respondents may perceive “accessible” by both physical and financial means. Focus group participants were largely against limiting eMTB riders to only those with a proven disability or designating them to specific trails only.

Based on the pilot project study, CRS researchers concluded that education and communication can be an effective first-line strategy for increasing understanding of what Class 1 pedal-assist eMTBs are and dispelling misperceptions. Education can be disseminated with help from local mountain bike organizations, bike shops, land managers, and direct interactions at trail systems. Also, increased signage, particularly on more difficult terrain, will be important to educate newer riders in making wise decisions on terrain that may be more readily accessible via eMTBs.

CRS also noted that more data and research is needed in three areas: 

Understanding the percentage of increased ridership expected to be attributed to new eMTB riders vs. new traditional riders, and how this compares to general increases in trail users.

The impact of eMTB riding on physical trails.

Understanding who rides eMTBs; this includes demographic information, as well as whether most users rent or own eMTBs and if eMTB riders are new to the sport entirely or transitioned from traditional bikes.

”Land managers nationwide can use this study as a blueprint to help make the best decision on eMTB trail access for their communities,” says Saul Leiken, global category leader with Specialized Bicycle Components. Leiken also supports that the study can help direct future industry action and involvement. “The study rightfully points out what must be investigated next, including trail impacts and ridership demographics, to support increased eMTB trail access. The bicycle industry can and should help study these questions, as we know our bicycles and riders best.”

A full summary report of the Vermont eMTB Pilot Project Study can be found here. Please reach out to PeopleForBikes’ eMTB Policy and Program Manager Rachel Fussell at rachel@peopleforbikes.org with any questions or for more information on this study.

New Research Shows Promising Future for eMTB Access

Last month, with the Palm Springs desert in full bloom and snow atop San Jacinto, the region's highest peak, hundreds of passionate trail managers, advocates, and experts gathered for the 2023 California Trails and Greenways Conference. With more than 30 educational sessions and workshops over three days, the conference focused on the role of trails in connecting people to the land and one another. In attendance were members of the trail stewardship community as well as land managers, researchers, conservationists, mountain bike organizations, active transportation advocates, and regional, state, and federal officials. 

PeopleForBikes and partners from WRA Environmental Consultants and California State Parks presented a session on "How to Plan for and Manage eMTB Use." During the session, Matthew Richmond from WRA presented findings from current research and studies on eMTB environmental impacts, including trail tread and wildlife studies. Maria Mowry, district superintendent with California State Parks, joined our team in presenting the results from two eMTB pilot studies in California and Vermont on the use of Class 1 pedal-assist eMTBs on natural surface singletrack trails. 

Another conference highlight was a first-of-its-kind workshop led by Matthew Anzalone, executive director of the California Mountain Biking Coalition (CAMTB). “CAMTB recognized a gap in the conference content intended to educate and activate conference attendees, specifically trails and greenways practitioners, in the legislative process,” he said. “[Conference attendees] are a vested audience so it's both important to inspire them to take action and to provide the necessary tools and resources to support those efforts.” His interactive, long-format workshop provided a great forum to do just that.

The following are nine high-level takeaways from this year’s conference, with an emphasis on how trails can be a multifunctional asset to communities nationwide:

California, along with the rest of the world, is facing several challenges as we work to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change and manage infrastructure of all scales. Trails, which have become increasingly critical for recreation, health, and transportation, are often built along waterways and coastlines, prone to flooding as well as sea level rise and “extreme” rain events. Others are located in areas inclined to wildfire and extreme heat. However, trail corridors can also be part of the climate solution, managing stormwater, providing access for firefighters, and helping communities reduce greenhouse gas emissions by shifting more trips to walking, biking, and electric-assist devices.

In the age of the climate crisis, planning and designing resilient trails to mitigate climate change will be key. Planners from across California came together to speak about how trails are providing critical infrastructure in building communities that can better adapt and be more resilient to future hazards. 

Case studies where trails are incorporating multi-benefit strategies for addressing more frequent and more extreme heat events, ecosystem health, drought, food shortages, and community connectivity included: a Level of Comfort tool developed for the Los Angeles River Path, which uses climate change-related risks to path users to help inform design solutions to provide protection from extreme heat events; a community orchard, wildlife bridge, and native habitat restoration for the Park to Playa Trail; and the conservation and restoration of urban open spaces at the Taylor Yard near downtown Los Angeles and hilltops in Northeast Los Angeles.


Trails offer many benefits to their surrounding communities, providing access to recreation and active transportation, serving as emergency access routes, helping connect folks to transit, and making up key arteries in urban and rural centers. The trail community needs to find more compelling ways to share the story behind the benefits of trails with communities, policymakers, and funders. 

Along with more than 200 countries across the world, California has committed to conserving 30% of lands and coastal waters by 2030 through its 30x30 Initiative. This commitment is a critical strategy to prevent habitat loss and expand access to nature and all its benefits. Access and protection of lands for recreation and trails will contribute to this goal. 

The outdoor recreation community sees great potential in the 30x30 Initiative  implementation to not only protect biodiversity and advance climate protections, but also to support outdoor recreation, the outdoor recreation economy, and equitable access to the outdoors. Working lands, recreation lands, open spaces, dedicated conservation areas, and marine protected areas — including federal, state, private, and local lands — all count toward reaching the 2030 goal.

Trails aren’t just for recreation. They connect our communities, help transport people, contribute to a healthy lifestyle, and combat climate change by giving people another transportation option instead of driving. As a community, we should be thinking of trails as part of active transportation planning, not just paved streets and highways. 

One case, the San Lorenzo Creekway Master Plan, highlights how cities and communities can build equitable active transportation solutions. The plan would take an existing maintenance road alongside the concrete channel creek path and expand its use. Once completed, the San Lorenzo Creekway will provide up to 10+ miles of primarily pedestrian, bicycle, and roller multi-use path for both healthy living and active transportation benefits. 

Trails and outdoor recreation opportunities can transform small and rural communities. As Greg Williams, executive director of the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship noted in his presentation, recreation tourism benefits economically disadvantaged communities in California’s Plumas, Sierra, Butte, Lassen, and Nevada Counties. Trails as economic development tools can shift the focus from extractive industries while providing stability and environmental benefits, such as fire recovery and prevention efforts. Trails can also help create a learning landscape for outdoor and environmental education programs that can employ youth and other community members.

Trails and greenways are an important asset to every community and they should be supported by every policymaker, regardless of party affiliation. During CAMTB’s “State and Federal Legislative Round-Up and Strategy” session, the focus was on recreation and trail-specific legislation that can help communities with important active transportation infrastructure, economic development, and healthy lifestyles. 

The group, which included attendees from the California Outdoor Recreation Partnership, Outdoor Alliance, IMBA, CalTrans, and local land trust staff, discussed several bills: The California Recreational Trails and Greenways Act (AB 411), which would establish a competitive $12 million fund for recreational natural surface trail investments, and the California Scenic Bikeways Act (AB 1212), which would establish a scenic bikeway network in California that prioritizes rural and significant areas for economic development. 

8. Trails Can Foster More Equity + Inclusion

Community trail efforts are increasingly focusing on providing equitable access to trails, which can create substantial benefits for public health and quality of life. Unfortunately, in many areas, access to trails is inequitably distributed and can be less abundant in lower-income neighborhoods with a larger share of minority residents, which can be exacerbated by a history of segregation in public places and a lack of racial and ethnic representation in trail and conservation organizations.

 The benefit of parks and trails is greatest for those who live closest to these resources, and a disparity in access can have significant health, social, and economic implications, while also exacerbating environmental justice concerns in communities. However, more cities and towns are improving access by incorporating trails and pathways as part of their planning, development, and revitalization standards—moving beyond trails as a recreational amenity and incorporating trails as critical contributors to goals in public health, climate resilience, and transportation.

Several sessions focused on advancing equity in all aspects of recreation and trails. One of the presenters, Lily Brown with Equitable and Active Transportation, shared case studies and examples of positive momentum, including the Bay Trail Equity Strategy, that can be used to help more agencies and organizations to take courageous steps towards more equitable access and trail planning. It is critical to address and overcome these barriers to equity work moving forward and creating better spaces for all to enjoy. 

9. We Need to Keep the Momentum for Trails Going

Our world has changed over the last several years, and with those changes have come opportunities and challenges for trails. The rapid change brought on by the pandemic has had wide-ranging effects on land managers, advocacy organizations, and communities throughout the U.S., including substantial increases in trail use. As part of these changes, we all need to continue working to build and sustain the amazing growth our trails community and industry have seen in recent years.

Highlights from the California Trails and Greenways Conference

Florida may be known as the “Sunshine State” but after Senate Bill 106 was signed into law on April 11, the state is well on its way to adding “trails” to its nickname.

Championed by Senator Jason Brodeur and passed unanimously in both chambers of the state legislature, the new bill will expand access to Florida’s iconic Wildlife Corridor and fund the design, planning, and construction of trails connecting the Corridor to the Florida Greenways and Trails System and the Shared-Use Nonmotorized (SUN) Trail Network. The new trails will create an interconnected, multi-use network for bicyclists and pedestrians to connect with nature and explore the state by bike or foot.

PeopleForBikes believes ensuring more access and funding for active transportation and recreational trails prioritizes and positions bicycles as a solution to improve everyone’s health, connect communities, boost local and state economies, and protect our planet. 

The legislation includes a one-time allocation of $200 million to formally plan, design, and build the SUN Trail Network connection to the Wildlife Corridor. The bill also increases the annual allocation from $25 million to $50 million to continue funding the maintenance and construction of SUN Trail connectors and shared-use nonmotorized trails.

“This funding will help grow the statewide network of trails and close key gaps to connect more communities in the Sunshine State — helping everyone, everywhere, have access to safe, nonmotorized pathways to walk, bike, or simply get out and enjoy the outdoors,” says Ken Bryan, the Florida director at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

The Florida SUN Trail Program was created in 2015 to support the establishment of a statewide system of interconnected multi-use trails for bicyclists and pedestrians through coordination between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).

Florida’s Wildlife Corridor encompasses approximately 17.7 million acres, including nearly 10 million acres of conservation lands. The Wildlife Corridor was created through the state’s purchase of development rights from farmers, ranchers, and other landowners who will be able to continue their operations in perpetuity while allowing the lands to never be developed.

The legislation also codifies an existing FDEP campaign to recognize communities located along or in proximity to long-distance nonmotorized recreational trails as “Trail Towns,” with guidance for promoting trail-based tourism at the state level.

Additionally, the bill requires trail projects located within the Wildlife Corridor to use previously disturbed lands (abandoned roads and railroads, utility right-of-ways, canal corridors, etc.) to the greatest extent possible. The bill also seeks to minimize gaps between trail segments and ensure local support exists for all projects and trail segments.

For more information on the bill and others like it, please contact PeopleForBikes’ eMTB policy and program manager Rachel Fussell at rachel@peopleforbikes.org.

New Florida Bill Expands Access and Funding for Multi-Use Trails

Playing outside isn’t just for kids. Access to safe and enjoyable outdoor recreation — like biking, camping, boating, skiing, and more — is vital to our collective well-being and national economic growth. Communities in rural areas, especially those transitioning from older industries into new revenue streams, stand to benefit the most from strategic and targeted investments in recreation planning. 

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), outdoor recreation is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy, contributing $862 billion (1.9%) to the United States’ gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021. The BEA estimates that bicycling added $3.28 billion to the GDP in 2021, and even more telling is that from 2020 to 2021, the outdoor recreation economy grew more than three times (nearly 19%) faster than the overall U.S. economy. 

As the popularity of outdoor recreation continues to spread across all demographics, states with Offices of Outdoor Recreation (OREC) are best prepared to meet the growing demand. Eighteen states now house OREC offices, which help guide investments toward infrastructure, programming, and other resources that support outdoor recreation. 

2018: Colorado, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming

2019: Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Virginia, Wisconsin

2022: Arkansas, Maryland, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Minnesota

This map was last updated before Massachusetts created its state OREC Office in December 2022.

OREC offices elevate recreation experts to state-level cabinet or department leadership positions, ensuring that a strategy for outdoor recreation is a key component of their state’s economic growth and development. Before Utah started the first OREC office in 2013, most states relied on (or continue to rely on) wider-ranging tourism boards and commerce departments to invest in resources that get people outside. These entities often focus on larger-dollar, tourism-focused projects, such as ports for cruise ships, casinos, big resorts, airports, etc. 

OREC offices allow states to focus federal and state investments on trails, campsites, partnerships with public land management agencies, local outdoor industries, community-level recreation planning, and more. While these are often lower-dollar projects, they tend to offer a better return on investment for smaller, more rural communities than investments that only touch tourism-heavy cities or regions. It makes for a more balanced approach to state investment in outdoor recreation and tourism.

The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, of which PeopleForBikes is a member, brings together outdoor industries, from bikes to boats to RVs, to advocate for all user groups holistically. The group outlined the value of state OREC offices in this 2021 report.

OREC offices are also charged with incentivizing outdoor industries to invest in their states. PeopleForBikes hosted the Michigan and Arkansas OREC directors, Brad Garmon and Katherine Andrews, respectively, at our SHIFT‘22 conference in Bentonville, Arkansas, in October 2022. On stage, they pushed bike companies to invest in manufacturing, retail, events, and the workforce in their states. With incentives and support from ORECs, the bike industry and states stand to gain lucrative partnership opportunities to grow the culture of biking and recreation in their backyard.

Looking at PeopleForBikes annual City Ratings program, more than half of the top ten highest-ranking cities for biking are in states without an OREC office. This leaves a massive unmet potential for increasing outdoor recreation. City Ratings identifies communities that embrace the bicycle as a tool for mobility, economic growth, and recreation, and state ORECs can build on these cities’ successes by supporting and stimulating the outdoor recreation economy through bicycling in surrounding towns and communities. 

People for Bikes

Improving Recreational Access for Bikes

Securing Funding for New Parks and Trails

Helping Cities Build Great Places to Bike That Are Close to Home

Improving Road Cyclist Safety

Increasing Access for Kids, Veterans, Electric Bicycle Riders and Underserved Communities

Promoting Recreation-Based Economic Development in Rural Areas

People for Bikes