Little Falls is on the brink of developing one of the largest tourism booms in our history—with the possibility of generating millions of additional dollars into our economy each year. In 2008, a committee was formed to address connecting the Paul Bunyan Trail to the Soo Line Trail, which is a missing 32 mile link. This link, now known as The Camp Ripley Veterans State Trail (CRVST), is the first “State Trail” by law, that will be “multimodal by design” meaning it will accommodate motorized and non motorized trail users. When completed, this “missing link” will have connected numerous other trails to create the “Longest Continuous Paved Bike Trail” in the World and will offer over 400 miles of continuous trail. The trail would not only impact central Minnesota, but create the “link” that would connect many Minnesota communities to each other.
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| Cuyuna Paved Bike Trail (courtesy of City of Crosby) |
The resulting trail will be a one-of-a-kind system for non-motorized users. A person will be able to go from Fergus Falls to Bemidji or St. Joseph to Cass Lake, for example. Motorized users will also enjoy an enhanced and simplified connection through central Minnesota. Everyone will have to go through Little Falls, the hub city of this network, which means all of central Minnesota will benefit by greatly enhancing their ability to draw tourism.
During warm weather months in Minnesota nearly 1.5 million cyclists, inline skaters, joggers, and walkers use our state trails. The long term goal for the CRVST is to make the trail usable year round by encircling Camp Ripley and linking many equestrian, ATV, and snowmobile trails together.
There’s no doubt the CRVST will have a huge impact on our region. It will do wonders to help our existing base of tourist attractions and businesses by bringing people into our downtowns, but it will also attract other businesses to locate here. Area businesses will see positive growth and there will be much potential for local and national entrepreneurs.
How Other Communities have Benefited from Trails:
A few years ago, a group from Little Falls was invited to tour Lanesboro, Minnesota. Lanesboro is on the Root River Trail in Southeastern Minnesota and is often cited as an example of the economic impact a trail can have on a community. Lanesboro tourism representatives put on a presentation about the impact that the Root River Trail system has had on their community.
When the Root River Trail opened twenty-five years ago, the town of Lanesboro was a virtual ghost town with the majority of their storefronts and many homes boarded up. Today it is a thriving community. The city now has eight restaurants, twelve B&Bs, an art gallery, a museum, and a successful community theater. One of the local restaurant owners told us she is one of the few that stays open all year. In the winter months she employees six full-time employees. In the summer she employees sixty.
Impressive Figures from some articles I recently read:
Gary Sjoquist of Quality Bicycle Products - The Economic Benefit of Trails
Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota
Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota - Benefits of Parks and Trails
- Minnesota’s non-motorized trail users spend approximately $2.7 billion annually on trips and equipment, and support 37,000 jobs statewide.
- Trail-related expenditures range from less than $1 per day to more than $75 per day, depending on mileage covered. Trail users are willing to spend money to have a good time while using the trails.
- Trails can bring at least one million dollars annually to a community, depending on how well the town embraces the trail. For a town like Lanesboro, a trail can mean an annual economic impact of more than five million dollars.
- 70% of real estate agents use trails as a selling feature when selling homes near trails. 80.5% of them feel the trail would make it easier to sell.
- The U.S. National Parks Service notes that increases in property values range from 5 to 32% when adjacent to trails and greenways.
- Researchers estimate homeowners are willing to pay an additional $4,000-$9,000 to be located within a thousand feet of a trail.
- 80% of home buyers say walking trails are a top community characteristic when choosing a new home.
Communities located along state trails are the primary beneficiaries of this economic activity. For example, the Paul Bunyan State Trail, Heartland State Trail, and Root River State Trail each generate $1.2 million and $2.2 million for their local regions respectively. The majority of this spending – 90% or more – comes from trail users who reside outside the local economy, and thus are “new” dollars that would not otherwise be spent in the community.
Our Goal:
There is great hope for the CRVST and what it will do for Little Falls and central Minnesota. Our primary goal is to make the connection between the Paul Bunyan and the Soo Line Trail as soon as possible. It will take many years to complete all aspects of this trail, but I believe we are well on our way.
Questions for you: Do you use trails? How important are trails to you? Do you think this is an important feature to add to central Minnesota? Why or why not?
