Oregon Signature Trails

Together, we can create world-class infrastructure that will be a source of pride and vitality for local communities and attract visitors from around the globe. It will take both collaboration and visionary leadership as well as bold public and private investments to generate bold returns.

Signature trails investments are first and foremost for Oregonians.

• Trails create prosperity. $753 million in labor income a year is contributed from non-motorized trail use in Oregon.*
• Oregonians value trails. Oregon’s non-motorized trail users place a value of participation in trail activities in the state at $19.9 billion/year. Seventy-four percent of Oregonians use local trails. Fifty-five percent of Oregonians travel to use other trails in the state.*
• Trails improve public health. Non-motorized trail use in Oregon results in health savings of more than $150 million/year for Oregon residents.*

*Data from 2019-2023 Oregon Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, Outdoor Recreation in Oregon: Responding to Demographic and Societal Change

FUNDING, CAPACITY, COORDINATION, & INFORMATION GAPS

Along with gaps in physical trail and lodging infrastructure, many gaps were identified in funding, agency capacity, coordination, and information resources.

• Funding: The biggest barrier to the further development of a world-class signature network in Oregon is the current lack of large-scale financial investment. Existing trails funding programs are oversubscribed, Oregon has next to no general fund investment in parks and trails, and the state has yet to see any private investment in trails that is significant on the statewide scale. Federal grants such as Federal Land Access Program (FLAP) and Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants have been instrumental in completing specific project phases or segments, but alone are insufficient for building a world-class network in Oregon. Oftentimes the trail segments that get built are the least expensive, least challenging segments rather than truly world-class infrastructure providing access to our most striking landscapes.

• Agency Capacity: Both public agencies and trail advocates/stewardship partners identified the limited capacity of public agency recreation staff as a barrier to further trail planning and development. In many cases, our public agencies lack the recreation planning and other staff capacity to complete robust trail system and individual trail planning processes, to conduct the necessary feasibility assessments including National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), and cultural resource assessments, to conduct robust community engagement processes, and to coordinate with outside partners in reasonable timeframes. In some cases public agency partners stressed the importance of completing larger system planning efforts before forwarding specific signature trail development projects. Partners also frequently referenced the lack of agency resources to keep up with the deferred maintenance of the current system, thus contributing to further reluctance to develop new facilities.

• Inter-Agency Coordination and Leadership: Most long-distance trails span multiple jurisdictions, and while some trails have formal inter-agency agreements, in many cases, there is no clear trail authority or coordination body to coordinate partners, make decisions, identify priorities, or develop consistent resources (such as maps, wayfinding, etc) for the entirety of a trail. Due to the agency capacity limitations identified above, agencies are frequently reluctant to take on a leadership or coordination role for facilities outside of their jurisdiction.

• Information Resources: Individuals who have recreated on signature trail systems outside of the United States often remark on how seamless the experience is abroad, and how comparatively difficult it is to plan a trip here at home. In order to find maps and information about closures and current conditions, individuals often have to piece together information across several different agency websites that are structured differently and vary greatly in amount of detail and whether information is current or out of date. Safety and outdoor ethics information, and information about available amenities including water, restrooms, camping and lodging, food, transportation, guides and outfitters can be equally inconsistent.

We want to start by acknowledging all of the stewards, past and present, who have cared for our trails and our precious places. We are grateful for your legacy.

Over sixty tribes and bands of Indigenous Peoples have lived in our broader northwest region since time immemorial. Despite the treaties of the 1800s, termination, restoration, and other barriers, nine tribes are currently federally-recognized in what is now Oregon. Additional tribes outside of Oregon have interests in the state, and other tribal treaties have gone unratified and the sovereignty of additional regional Indigenous Peoples unrecognized. In Oregon, outdoor recreation occurs on the ancestral lands of these original peoples and current caretakers.

Other exclusionary laws and policies throughout Oregon’s history have privileged the interests of some while perpetuating harm against others. We are called to seek out the history of the places where we recreate and continue to learn how to best collaborate in their caretaking and in forwarding equity in access to the places themselves and to the benefits they confer upon our communities. We acknowledge those leading the work to address past harms and build equity and inclusion for current and future generations. We are grateful for your leadership.

We want to acknowledge Travel Oregon and the Oregon Trails Fund for funding this project.

We want to acknowledge Brady Callahan and the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department for providing ArcGIS mapping of our signature trails.

We want to acknowledge Dan Miller and the National Park Service-Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program for technical assistance on the project.

We want to acknowledge the indispensable work of research assistant, JoAnna Campbell, interning through Eastern Oregon University’s Sustainable Rural Systems program.

Lastly we want to thank all of the advocates and volunteers, trails users, public agency staff, and other community partners who participated in regional listening sessions, focus groups, and interviews, took our survey, and otherwise shared information, maps, and files for this project.

We thank our Steering Committee for their invaluable guidance throughout the project:

• Nastassja Olson, Travel Oregon
• Scott Bricker, Travel Oregon
• Cailin O’Brien-Feeney, Oregon Office of Outdoor Recreation
• Jodi Bellefuille, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
• Zach Jarrett, U.S. Forest Service- Region 6
• Dan Davis, Bureau of Land Management- OR WA office
• Joe Kresse, Oregon Recreational Trails Advisory Council (ORTAC)
• Shannon Donovan, Eastern Oregon University
• Robert Spurlock, Metro, ORTAC
• Dan Miller, National Park Service- Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance
• Brady Callahan, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
• Fraser Macdonald, Willamalane Park and Recreation District, ORTAC
• Kyle Smith, Oregon Department of Forestry
• Robin Wilcox, Oregon Department of Transportation
• Jenna Marmon, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department

Stephanie Noll, Director, Oregon Trails Coalition

•  Oregon Signature Trails Inventory  
•  Oregon Signature Trails Vision 
•  Ready, Set, Plan!?: An Introductory Guide to Trail Planning and Development  
•  Trail Planning, Design, Policy, and Funding Resources