5 days of learning, collaboration & networking for trail professionals and emerging leaders within the trails community.

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Learning Credits at the Workshop

Thanks to our partnership with American Trails, PNTS will be offering learning credits for many of our sessions at the National Trails Workshop.

Learning credits are free and available to all those that register for the event.

American Trails is a certified provider of the following credits and continuing education opportunities:

• American Institute of Certified Planners Continuing Maintenance (AICP CM)

• Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System (LA CES) (most HSW approved)

• National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) CEU equivalency petition

• CEU/PDH equivalency petition for other accepting organizations

All of the workshop sessions listed here are approved for AICP CM (planners) and LA CES (landscape architects) and select sessions will also offer NRPA CEUs and CEU/PDH equivalency petition for other accepting organizations.

Learn More about Learning Credits

Field Workshop Opportunities

Join us for an exciting array of field workshop opportunities at the National Trails Workshop on Tuesday, November 19! We’ve collaborated closely with organizations like the Arizona Trail Association (ATA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Old Pueblo Archeology Center, and more to bring you hands-on experiences that enhance your understanding of trail management, preservation, and community engagement. Whether you’re interested in resource assessment, interpretation, or environmental stewardship, there’s a field workshop for you. Don’t miss this chance to learn from experts and connect with fellow trail enthusiasts!

National Scenic and Historic Trail Field Workshop

Apply Inventory, Assessment and Monitoring (IAM) methods while walking the Butterfield Overland NHT and Arizona NST! We will break into small groups to rotate through stations that will demonstrate the field methods for scenic, cultural, recreation, and natural Landscape Elements. You’ll learn how to:

• Develop partner capacity and expertise on the four Landscape Elements

• Learn how to identify areas of the trail from which to conduct IAM in the field

• Personalize a IAM learning plan and how to develop an approach or plan for your NSHT

Anza Trail Cultural History Park: A Case Study in Accessible Public History

Participants will visit the Anza Trail Cultural History Park in Tucson, Arizona, along the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, and experience first hand this outdoor classroom that can serve as a case study for making cultural history accessible using universal design principles. This session will focus on an approach to accessibility along trails that extends beyond mobility into learning and cognition, and demonstrate the power and potential of community collaboration. This session is for all interested in interpretive design, accessibility, partnership and relationship building along trails.

Chuk-son Trail: Place-Based Interpretive Storytelling as a Catalyst for Youth Leadership, Stewardship and Conservation

The Chuk-son Trail is a 1.5 mile long, youth led, and community developed urban interpretive trail that runs through the heart of Tucson, Arizona’s unique ecological and cultural landscape, spanning more than 5000 years. Join youth, conservation and education professionals from Ironwood Tree Experience, The Wilderness Society, and Tucson Clean and Beautiful, as they share how youth led, community developed trails serve as a strategy for catalyzing local engagement in the stewardship, conservation, and education of local public lands. We will stroll through the unique bio-cultural context of the host city, sharing stories and connecting to the land. This workshop is ideal for participants hoping to learn how to better engage local youth and community groups in meaningful education, stewardship and conservation experiences.

Hike to I’itoi’s Cave on the Tohono O’odham Nation

This field trip includes traveling deep into the heart of the Tohono O’odham Nation — the second largest Native American Reservation in the country. After a visit to the Tohono O’odham Cultural Center and Museum, we will meet our indigenous guide who will hike with us to a sacred site in the Baboquivari Mountains. The hike includes walking 1.5 miles over steep terrain to reach I’itoi’s Cave, where you may choose to crawl inside the cave where a room-size cavern contains thousands of years of offerings. An additional hike to a nearby petroglyph and pictograph panel is also an option. While the drive is long (1.5 hours on pavement and 30 minutes on dirt each way) and the hiking mileage is minimal, this is a special opportunity to visit the Tohono O’odham “center of the universe” and learn more about the connection between the desert people and their sacred peak.

Archaeology Hike with Old Pueblo Archaeology Center to Two Important Cultural Sites

An experienced guide affiliated with Tucson’s nonprofit Old Pueblo Archeology Center will lead this tour to two of the Tucson area’s premier archeological sites.

Arizona Trail Mountain Biking Tour

Organized and led by Home Grown. Not affiliated with PNTS. NOT included in Registration – Cost is $225 per person

The 800-mile Arizona National Scenic Trail is the only national trail that allows mountain biking, and this stunning trail is worth experiencing on two wheels. The famous Arizona Trail starts at the border of Mexico and traverses through some of the most remote parts of the Sonoran desert, finishing 800 miles later at the Utah/Arizona border. This segment of the Arizona Trail, just south of Tucson, offers some of the best singletrack for mountain biking. Plan to see giant cacti and possibly wildlife. The backcountry nature of this ride makes for a memorable experience. *ALL RIDERS WELCOME****Learn more and sign up here. ***

Learn More about Field Workshops

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Book A Room

Tucson, Arizona

Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort and Spa

Sponsor the 2024 National Trails Workshop

Workshop sponsorship opportunities are available and provide an excellent way for your company or organization to align itself with the National Trails System while appealing to a highly engaged audience. Learn more from the Sponsorship Packet or contact PNTS Development Manager, Cristobal Slobodzian, to discuss further at cristobal@pnts.org.

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Thank you to our Sponsors!

 

Download (PDF, 1.12MB)

 

Thank You to our Federal Partners

Previous Workshops

2023 National Trails Workshop — November 7–9, 2023 — Orlando, Florida

2023 Workshop Program

2022 National Trails Workshop — November 2-4, 2022 — Albuquerque, New Mexico

2022 Workshop Program 

2021 Virtual National Trails Workshop — November 1–4, 2021

Themes: Collaboration and Engagement, Strengthening Organizations and Partnerships, Trail Land Protection

More than 270 people attended, presented, sponsored, and/or supported the Partnership for the National Trails System’s second Virtual Workshop.  Find the full program here with session materials, recordings, and speaker information. Recordings can also be found in the Webinar Archive.

National Trails Virtual Workshop — October 21–29, 2020

Themes: Advancing Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion; Expanding Partnerships Within and Beyond Trail Corridors; and, Increasing Capacity Through Organizational Development

More than 200 people attended, presented, sponsored, and/or supported the Partnership for the National Trails System’s first Virtual Workshop. Thank you so much for making this Workshop a success we can build on! During the workshop we heard about practical examples and best practices; we were encouraged to recognize that a big vision for a trail requires us to think outside of traditional boundaries and values; we heard about partners raising one another up and highlighting the long underprioritized stories of peoples and nationals throughout our National Trails System; we heard stories that were both heart-wrenching and heartwarming; and we started many important dialogues that we must continue. 

The video recordings are available to the public on the Workshop Final Program page and directly on YouTube .

Biennial National Historic Trails Workshop

At this biennial gathering of National Historic Trails advocates, volunteers and professionals, the workshop hones in on the issues that face the Historic Trails as they move towards completion. Interpretation, preservation of key historic sites, protection indigenous landscapes and acquiring and maintaining a contiguous trail corridor are addressed. Attend this workshop to learn more about how you can play a role in developing, protecting and preserving your favorite historic trails and how you can strengthen your trail organization.

• National Historic Trails Workshop 2016 – Kansas City, MO (June 6th-10th)
• National Historic Trails Workshop 2014 – Salt Lake City, UT
• National Historic Trails Workshop 2012 – Socorro, NM
• National Historic Trails Workshop 2010 – San Antonio, TX

Biennial National Scenic Trails Workshop

Scenic Trails highlight some of the country’s most spectacular natural landmarks and features. As stewards of these trails, building and maintaining these trails in some very remote locations with volunteer power presents many challenges to trail organizations. The National Scenic Trails workshop provides the opportunity to learn best practices in both physical trail building and maintenance and organizational development. Effective steward organizations have strong programs in communication, volunteer management, fundraising and leadership development. This is an opportunity to go in depth into the issues faced by trail organizations as they strive to complete and maintain the trails in these outstanding scenic corridors.

• Scenic Trails Workshop 2016 – Pensacola, FL (November 14th-18th)
• Scenic Trails Workshop 2014 – Tahoe City, CA
• Scenic Trails Workshop 2012 – Shepherdstown, WV
• Scenic Trails Workshop 2010 – Reisterstown, MD

Biennial Conferences

From 1988–2018, every two years, the Partnership for the National Trails System convened a conference for the members, partners and allies from the National Trails community. The staff, volunteers, young adults (trail apprentices), federal employees, and private sector professionals brought their experiences, stories and knowledge to share with the entire Trails community. These conferences provided the space for networking and training in skills useful on the trail, in the capitol or in the office of our member organizations. Best practices were shared and we looked at issues that crosscut the National Trails community.

Learn more about Biennial Conference Locations here