The Best Urban Rails-to-Trails in the U.S.

As transit networks for human-powered activities, rails to trails are bringing together communities, linked by a shared interest in a safe way to commute and commune with nature, and, in the process, protecting natural resources while also revitalizing local businesses.

1. Illinois Prairie Path, Illinois

Nicknamed the Roarin' Elgin, the now retired Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railroad once carried commuters and freight between Chicago and its suburbs. Its legacy, the 62-mile Illinois Prairie Path (IPP), one of the country's oldest rails to trails, is perfect not only for the botanically inclined but also the committed commuter.

2. Ojai Valley and Venture River trails - California

Urban grittiness is evident along the six-mile Ventura River trail where rotating and decommissioned oil derricks are in plain sight. But art installations also dot this trail, such as a bronze of oranges, reflecting the produce the railroad once transported, and other Ventura themes.

3. Burke Gilman Trail - Washington

 Traced by a sandy beach, Golden Gardens as well as other parts of the trail offer views of the mighty Olympic Mountains, even snow-capped Mount Rainier, in the distance.

4. Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, Florida

The path -- it's dotted with aluminum sculptures as a nod to its railroad history -- allows bladers, walkers and cyclists to safely and scenically traverse the Gulf coast, tidal waterways, myriad leafy parks and quaint neighborhoods in a state that's hardly noted for its pedestrian-friendly clime.

5. Minuteman Bikeway - Massachusetts

Short but oh-so-sweet, the 10-mile-long Minuteman Bikeway wanders through the landscape touched by the Revolutionary War, paralleling the Battle Road, aka Massachusetts Avenue, the route taken by British soldiers that marched to Concord. Following the path of the Lexington & West Cambridge Railroad from Cambridge to Bedford, this rail-to-trail is heralded as a year-round commuter way, even in the dead of winter.

6. Washington & Old Dominion Trail - Virginia

Many cyclists, joggers and bladers escape D.C. or commute on this trail that compliments the capital's retinue of memorials and monuments with lessons in history that are blended with a sense of peace rarely found in the chaotic Beltway.

7. Silver Comet Trail - Georgia

For 22 years since 1947, passengers could board a luxury train that cruised over towering trestles and through tunnels bored into mountains as it made the trip from New York to Birmingham, Alabama. That storied corridor has been transformed into the 62-mile Silver Comet Trail that spans Smyrna, Georgia (on the outskirts of Atlanta) to the Georgia/Alabama border near Cedartown in a rural North Georgia corner that's a mix of hardwood forests and rolling fields.

Find out more about this these seven urban rails to trails in the article I wrote for NationalGeographic Traveler - Intelligent Travel.

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It's Always Island Time on Tangier Island

As a high-octane person, I find it hard to slow down. But I had no choice when I took the ferry to Tangier Island, Virginia. After all, there are no daily newspapers, no magazines, no nightspots and no alcohol. (The community boasts strong religious roots.) But in this the world's soft-shell crab capital, I found plenty of small, otherwise forgotten pleasures with a few curiosities thrown in for good measure.

Interesting facts:

• Forget the car. The way to get around the island with its narrow lanes is by renting a golf cart or a bicycle or by walking.

• Most men have been watermen, harvesting hard- or soft-shell crabs.

• The citizens have a cockney-ish accent with some curious slang. ("You're too soon" translates to "you're late.")

• Kids catch crabs using string dangling from the bridges with chicken bones as bait.


This is how I'd spend a long three-day weekend:

1. The recently opened Tangier History Museum provides a window into the island's life, including Tangier's key role in the War of 1812.

2. Take out a kayak or canoe and paddle along the several water trails that course from the harbor past crab sheds, through marshes and the network of channels that slice the island. Take the yellow trail and you'll find a pristine strip of sand, perfect for beaching your beaching your boat and discovering Native American arrowheads.

3. The new self-guided history walk highlights dozens of sites, such as the old jail and family tombstones that occupy many front yards.

4. Sign up for the Honorary Waterman's Tour. You'll spend the day with watermen aboard traditional boats catching hard-shell and peeler crabs.

5. Rent a bicycle and pedal the network of paved and unpaved roads to explore the island's nooks and crannies.

6. Fuel up at Spanky’s, a 50s-style ice cream parlor on Main Street.

7. Walk along a long stretch of sandy beach or simply take in the sun in a very low-key atmosphere.

8. Watch the sunset from the island's stone jetty along with many locals.

9. Have lunch at the Chesapeake House that serves family-style meals on long tables piled with clam fritters and corn pudding.

But another great dining spot for all things crabby is the Fisherman's Corner. Try the soft-shell tidbits and the creamy bisque.

10. Choose one of a handful of inns, such as the Bay View and plop yourself on a rocking chair on the front porch and listen to the silence/

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