You Built the Trails. Now You Have to Tell People About Them
You built the trails (yay!).
Maybe it took years of tedious planning, meetings with skeptical land managers, countless grant applications, endless fundraising campaigns, technical environmental reviews, fun-filled volunteer work parties, professional construction, and more volunteer hours than anyone cares to count.
Eventually, after all that work, the trail system finally opens.
Ok ... then what?
For trail orgs, it can be tempting to think the biggest part of the job is finished. Build great trails (check), maintain them well (yep), upload them to Trailforks (done), and riders will eventually discover them.
Sometimes they will. But if one of the goals behind those trails is to create broader community benefits, especially tourism and economic development, simply building an amazing trail system may not be enough.
Someone still has to tell people it exists. That someone is probably YOU.
Why Great Trail Systems Still Need Marketing
There is an important difference between having great trails and becoming known as a great place to ride. One is primarily a trail-building challenge. The other is a branding and communication challenge.
Probably not something you think about when you pick up a shovel to build a trail. I get it.
There are exceptional trail systems scattered throughout rural communities that relatively few riders outside the region know about. Meanwhile, other communities become synonymous with mountain biking and regularly appear on riders’ lists of places they want to visit.
The difference is not always trail quality. It's about visibility.
I love branding and marketing. We know that effective destination branding goes far beyond creating a cool logo, catchy slogan, or captivating tourism campaign. It is really about establishing an identity. Not only that, but telling a compelling story and giving people a reason to choose one place over hundreds of alternatives.
The same principle actually applies to trail systems too. A town might have 40 miles of incredible singletrack winding through beautiful terrain, but someone scrolling Instagram hundreds of miles away does not know that.
Trails become destinations when people discover, ride them, and fall in love. Oh, and it begins with knowing that these trails even exist.
Why Trail Organizations Cannot Always Rely on Small Town Tourism Marketing
Trail orgs may reasonably assume that once a significant trail system exists, the local tourism office, chamber of commerce, city or county government, or economic development organization will begin aggressively promoting it.
Sometimes that happens. Sometimes it does not.
Many rural communities are operating with extremely limited resources. The person responsible for tourism may also be handling economic development, local events, business recruitment, grant writing, downtown revitalization, website updates, social media, and whatever emergency landed on their desk that morning.
Some small communities do not have a dedicated tourism employee at all. That doesn't necessarily mean local leaders don't value the trails. More often, it means they are stretched thin and wearing too many hats.
In most cases, the nonprofit trail org understands the riding experience better than anyone else in the community. You know which trail catches the evening light. You know which descent riders cannot stop talking about. You know where beginners should start. You know the history behind the project, the volunteers who spent years making it happen, and the little details that give the trail system personality.
Instead of waiting for someone else to tell the story, the trail org may need to start telling it.
How Mountain Bike Tourism Can Create Local Economic Impact
There is growing evidence that mountain biking can contribute meaningfully to rural economies. We've posted a lot about it through Trail Builder Mag. As a reminder, the Trust for Public Land reviewed more than 50 studies examining the economic benefits associated with mountain biking, and across the studies included in its analysis, nonlocal mountain bikers spent an average of $416 per visit.
That spending does not stay within the bike industry. Visitors buy gas, book hotel rooms and campsites, eat at restaurants, grab coffee, shop locally, purchase groceries, and spend money at breweries and other businesses.
As trail systems grow, they can also contribute to new business opportunities. But there is an obvious prerequisite for that economic impact.
People have to visit.
Before they visit, they have to know the trails exist. That makes marketing and communication part of the economic development equation.
Why Trail Organizations Should Become Better Storytellers
This does not mean your nonprofit needs to become a tourism bureau. It also does not mean your volunteer trail crew needs to spend half its time trying to become Instagram influencers.
It means recognizing that communication can be part of trail advocacy.
Most trail orgs are already sitting on an enormous amount of potential content. There are stories about why the trails were built, what makes the landscape unique, who built the trails, who they were built for, and what kind of riding experience people can expect.
You can tell people which trails are best for beginners, where experienced riders should start, what season is best for visiting, where someone can camp, and where riders usually gather after a day on the trail.
Instead of posting only “Dig day this Saturday,” show people what those dig days create. Instead of posting only trail conditions, show what it feels like to ride there. Instead of sharing another photo of a finished berm, zoom out and show the landscape, the community, the businesses, and the overall experience surrounding the trail system.
You are helping people understand the place, both locals and potential out-of-town visitors.
Building Partnerships for Trail Tourism
Listen, trail orgs don't have to carry the entire promotional burden themselves.
Start with businesses and organizations already invested in the community. Talk with the chamber of commerce. Meet with the tourism office. Connect with lodging properties, restaurants, breweries, bike shops, city staff, county staff, and nearby trail organizations.
Ask how you can promote one another.
A trail org may have access to riders and great photography. A local hotel may have rooms to fill. A restaurant may want more visitors on slower weekdays. A tourism office may have a broader advertising reach. Those assets can work together. Regional collaboration can be especially valuable in rural areas.
Instead of asking someone to drive four hours to ride one trail network, you may be inviting them to spend an entire long weekend exploring several trail systems and communities.
Now the trip becomes easier to justify.
Low-Cost Marketing Ideas for Nonprofit Trail Organizations
You do not need a massive marketing budget to begin promoting a trail system effectively. Technically, you don't need to spend anything.
Start by documenting what is already happening. Take better photographs. Capture short videos during rides and work parties. Publish trail guides on your website. Create a simple “Plan Your Trip” page. Tell volunteer stories and explain the history behind individual trails.
Highlight local businesses and create simple itineraries showing visitors where to ride, eat, stay, and explore. Make sureyour trails are accurately represented on mapping platforms, and that trail information is easy to find online.
Invite regional photographers, creators, journalists, and cycling media to experience the trails. Encourage riders to tag your organization and share their own content. Most importantly, create content that lasts longer than a social media post.
An article titled “Three Days of Mountain Biking in Our Town” could generate search traffic for years. A trail guide can answer the same questions hundreds of visitors would otherwise ask individually. A short video series can gradually introduce the trail system to riders who have never heard of the community.
While your trail org probably is active on social media, how about creating social media accounts for the trail system? At least, how about a Facebook page or group?
Why Consistency Matters in Trail Destination Marketing
Destinations are rarely built from a single viral Reel.
They are built through repeated exposure.
A rider sees your trail system once. A few months later, they see another video. Then a friend shares a post. Later, they come across an article while researching a trip. Eventually your community makes its way onto their mental list of places they want to ride.
That process can take months or even years.
Consistency matters because destination marketing is often a long-term awareness strategy. Your trail org may not be able to draw a straight line between one Instagram post and a hotel booking, but every useful piece of content contributes to a larger body of awareness.
Over time, people begin recognizing the name of the trail system, the town, and the riding experience associated with it.
That is how destinations are built.
Sean is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Trail Builder Mag, a digital media instructor, and the Communications Director for the Northwest Trail Alliance in Portland, Oregon. Email: sean@trailbuildermag.com
