Book Review: Deciding on Trails

As the name suggests, Book Reviews takes a look at books that have a rural subject or provide commentary on a subject matter that affects rural communities. Our last Book Review was “Arbitrary Lines“, written by guest contributor Daniel Bennett, AICP.

A few months ago, I was able to take the Trail Towns 101 course. Although it was the course that interested me, the registration fee also included a free book. Sent to me was Amy Camp’s Deciding on Trails, a relatively new book that hadn’t yet made it to my Amazon wish list (which acts as my reading queue).

Amy is one of the instructors of the Trail Towns 101 course, a three-session course designed to help trail lovers, local leaders, and economic development professionals make the most out of the trails.

A General Synopsis

Deciding on Trails pulls the reader back from the actionable items laid out within the Trail Towns 101 course and the Trail Town model. It focuses more on the mindset of the town. The book centers on building support for trails and engaging others in the effort for a long-term, sustainable impact. As stated in the book, “Trail Towns is both a designation and an attitude.” This book delves deeper into that attitude that makes a successful Trail Town.

Within the pages of the book, Amy Camp goes through her “Seven Practices of Healthy Trail Towns.” Each practice has its own chapter dedicated to it in Part II of the book, where she goes in depth to explain why these practices matter. This is where one of my favorite quotes from the book exists. “Hospitality is a community-wide job that starts at the trailhead and may be felt in every personal interaction.” This speaks volumes to the buy-in that your community needs to become a Trail Town.

At the end of the book, she provides a list of suggested resources for additional reading. These guides and handbooks provide a deeper look into trail towns and what it takes to become one. There’s also a listing of established trail town initiatives. A gathering of those towns that have had success and that your community can model itself after.

Overall Opinion of the Book

This is a great book to read if you are thinking about building a consensus in your community about the importance of trails. It sparks creative thoughts about how you can build the case within your own community for trail development. It is a relatively quick and easy read for a 200+ page book. That is, until you start stopping mid-chapter as your mind wanders about what you can do to make your community a better trail town.

Buy Deciding on Trails Through Amazon Here