Citation: Brown, L.E., M. Basak-Smith, K. Bradley, S.F. Stearns, A.T. Morzillo, and S. Parkand. 2021. “Exploring the Implications of Increased Rural Trail Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Health, Planning, Equity and Inclusivity” Choices. Quarter 3.
Abstract: Social distancing measures are changing how we think about and use outdoor spaces. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions on many events and activities, use of trails in communities across the United States has surged, in some areas up to 200%. As the pandemic continues, park managers remain focused on urgent public health and safety concerns. However, immediate and longer term increased outdoor space use poses both challenges and opportunities for trail and environmental management, public health, economic asset development, equity and access. It is yet to be seen if these short-term reactive trends will lead to long-term changes either in recreational behavior or community recreation policy. Meanwhile, exploring ongoing impacts may help communities identify potentially beneficial strategies, policies, and programs. As of this writing, policies continue to shift to address the changing nature of the pandemic from region to region, and from local to national levels. Our objective is to explore these potential implications from the perspective of two stakeholder groups associated with recreation use of outdoor space: trail managers and trail users.