American Trails has selected Dayton as the host city for its 2017 International Trails Symposium.
Dayton to host 2017 International Trails Symposium
American Trails, a national, nonprofit organization with a mission to create and protect America's network of interconnected trails – announced last night (Dec. 17) that it has selected Dayton as the host city for its 2017 International Trails Symposium.
The event will be held in May 2017 and will bring hundreds of attendees from throughout the world to the Dayton region. Dayton joins a prestigious list of cities that have hosted the International Trails Symposium, including 2015 host Portland, Oregon, and such cities as Chattanooga, Tennessee; Austin, Texas; Orlando, Florida; and Tucson, Arizona.
"The event will showcase not only the Dayton region but the Midwest as a destination for outdoor recreation and a place where it's fun and easy to have an active, healthy outdoor lifestyle," said Amy Dingle, Five Rivers MetroParks director of outdoor connections. "Dayton was selected as part of a competitive bidding process for its convenient location and rich array of trail-based assets. Indeed, the Dayton region is becoming synonymous with outdoor recreation, as its collection of amenities puts it on the map as the Outdoor Adventure Capital of the Midwest."
Those amenities include cycling, mountain biking, river, hiking, backpacking, equestrian, motorized and ADA-accessible trails, all of which will be featured during the International Trails Symposium. Partnering organizations and volunteers have created a system in which most residents live within 10 to 15 minutes of a trail.
Dayton is home to a wide range of outdoor amenities. Those include:
- the nation's largest paved trail network, with more than 330 miles to explore
- three of Ohio's State Water Trails (the Stillwater, Great Miami and Mad rivers) and two of Ohio's State Scenic Rivers (the Stillwater and Little Miami rivers)
- the Little Miami River, designated a National Wild and Scenic River — one of the first in the country to achieve the designation
- the North Country National Scenic Trail and the Buckeye Trail
- Dayton Regional Rowing, the nation's only Community Olympic Development Program for rowing
- outdoor adventure festival Midwest Outdoor Experience
- the Mad River Run at Eastwood MetroPark and the now-under-construction RiverScape River Run in downtown Dayton
- Link Dayton Bike Share
In addition, the League of American Bicyclists has named Dayton a Bronze-Level Bike Friendly Community, the Buckeye Trail and North Country Trail associations designated it an official Trail Town, and Outside Magazine awarded the region with an honorable mention in its 2015 "Best Towns" list.
The International Trails Symposium will be presented in Dayton by the following partner organizations:
- Five Rivers MetroParks
- Dayton/Montgomery County Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission
- Miami Conservancy District
- City of Dayton
- Greene County Parks & Recreation
- Miami County Parks District
- Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Planning for the event will begin in earnest in January 2016. The host partners will reach out to the community to ensure the Dayton region's rich and diverse residents are involved with hosting the best International Trails Symposium to date.
American Trails sponsors the International Trails Symposium every two years to bring together trail and greenway advocates, managers, planners and users, as well as tourism and business interests. The Symposium is the premier opportunity for the worldwide trails community to come together to communicate and experience an inspirational and educational conference. This is the largest gathering of all trail interests who believe their combined voices are the best way to strengthen trails for everyone.
