What Makes a Good Trail?

To better advocate for the kind of walking and biking infrastructure it wants to see in a regional trail network, the Capital Trails Coalition has set out to define the components of a high-quality trail.

1 minute read

April 25, 2017, 6:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Pedestrian Safety

Artem Avetisyan / Shutterstock

Bryan Barnett-Woods reports on an effort by the Capital Trails Coalition to identify and adopt consistent criteria for the evaluation of trails in the D.C. region.

"When the understanding of what a trail is varies, it's hard to create a true regional network that people of all abilities are comfortable using," explains Barnett-Woods of the problem facing active transportation advocates in the region. To better promote the creation of a regional network of trails, Capital Trails Coalition first laid out criteria for the components of a high-quality trail.

Barnett-Woods list the criteria, with more detail in the article to describe each point:

  • Be separate from automobiles
  • Be wide
  • Have paved or hard surfaces
  • Connect to other trails or destinations
  • Accommodate both transportation and recreation
  • Be a project that’s realistic to build now or sometime soon
  • Follow uniform design standards

Monday, April 17, 2017 in Greater Greater Washington

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

2 hours ago - Parking Reform Network

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

4 hours ago - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

6 hours ago - InTransition Magazine