American Trails
American Trails is a national nonprofit founded in 1988 that serves 40,000+ trail professionals, advocates, and users through education (300+ webinars, 120,000 trained), funding programs ($7.5M over five years), a National Recreation Trails database of nearly 1,300 trails, and a biennial International Trails Summit.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1988
- HeadquartersRedding, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What American Trails does
American Trails is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1988 and headquartered in Redding, California, with a distributed staff of fewer than 10 operating from offices in Marshfield, Wisconsin and Eugene, Oregon. The organization's stated mission is to connect and transform communities through the power of trails, and it serves a national constituency of more than 40,000 monthly trail users, professionals, and advocates. It delivers value through a portfolio of programs including the Trails Capacity Program ($7.5M over five years, leveraged 4:1), the Legacy Trails Program in partnership with USDA Forest Service, the biennial International Trails Summit, the Advancing Trails Webinar Series (300+ on-demand webinars that have trained over 120,000 people), the Career Pathways Portal, the Business Directory, and the Advancing Trails Awards. It also maintains the National Recreation Trails database of nearly 1,300 trails and leads the Trail Core Competency Framework of 80 competencies developed with over 30 partner organizations.
The technology stack is a web-based education and resource platform, centered on a content management system delivering categorized articles, documents, studies, webinars, and the NRT database. No mobile application, public API, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors with representation from major sector organizations including AllTrails, Rails to Trails Conservancy, and the International Mountain Bicycling Association.
American Trails operates a diversified nonprofit revenue model combining annual membership subscriptions (including a premium Trail Champion tier), individual donations, corporate sponsorships across named Trail Boss Partners, paid Business Directory listings, summit registration fees, and programmatic grant funding. GTM is community-led and event-driven, relying on coalition partnerships with 30+ organizations, monthly email communications, and the biennial summit rather than direct sales. It does not have a parent company, subsidiaries, or disclosed funding rounds.
American Trails firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- American Trails
- Legal name
- American Trails
- Website
- https://americantrails.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1988
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- American Trails is a national nonprofit founded in 1988 that serves 40,000+ trail professionals, advocates, and users through education (300+ webinars, 120,000 trained), funding programs ($7.5M over five years), a National Recreation Trails database of nearly 1,300 trails, and a biennial International Trails Summit.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
American Trails industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Trail Advocacy and Outdoor Recreation Education (Nonprofit Organization Services)
- NAICS
- Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Outdoor & Survival Skills Lessons (Bushcraft, Navigation, Foraging) (THAJAKAM)
Keywords
Where American Trails is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Redding
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
American Trails business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Program: Annual membership program offering benefits including access to resources, webinars, learning credits, and networking opportunities. Tiered membership including Trail Champion Members at the highest level.
- Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting trail advocacy and education.
- Sponsorships: Corporate sponsorships including Trail Boss Partners, Trail Ambassador Partnerships, and webinar sponsorships.
- Business Directory: Free and paid online listings for organizations in the trails community.
- Program Funding: Grant funding for trail projects including the Trails Capacity Program ($7.5M over 5 years, leveraged 4:1) and Legacy Trails Program for National Forests and Grasslands.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Standard Membership |
| Subscription | Annual | Trail Champion Members |
| Subscription | Annual | Business Directory Listings |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
American Trails product offering
Product offeringCore offering
American Trails is a national nonprofit organization that delivers trail education, advocacy, and resources to trail professionals, agencies, and communities across the United States. Its core offerings include the Advancing Trails Webinar Series (300+ on-demand webinars), the biennial International Trails Summit, the NRT Database of nearly 1,300 National Recreation Trails, the Trail Core Competency Framework, and grant funding programs (Trails Capacity Program and Legacy Trails Program). The organization also operates a Business Directory, Career Pathways Portal, and Resource Library, and connects 40,000+ monthly constituents through newsletters and coalition-based advocacy.
Product overview
American Trails offers a comprehensive suite of interconnected programs and resources designed to advance trail development, management, and advocacy across America. The core offerings include the biennial International Trails Summit, the Advancing Trails Webinar Series (with over 300 on-demand sessions), the Career Pathways Portal for workforce development, and the Resource Library containing thousands of articles and documents. The organization also administers funding programs including The Trail Fund, Trails Capacity Program, and Legacy Trails Program. Additional offerings include the Business Directory, Advancing Trails Awards, Emerging Trail Leaders Program, NRT Database, and the TrailTracks eNewsletter. Together, these products form an integrated ecosystem supporting trail professionals, advocates, and communities throughout the planning, building, funding, and management lifecycle.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- International Trails Summit A biennial conference bringing together trail and greenway advocates, managers, planners, and users, as well as tourism and business interests to share knowledge and advance the trails community.
- The Trail Fund A joint initiative of the Trails Move People Coalition led by American Trails to assist the trails community with funding for maintenance, research, and stewardship training needs.
- Advancing Trails Webinars A webinar series bringing agencies, trailbuilders, advocates, and volunteers the latest in state-of-the-art information on all aspects of trails and greenways, with over 300 on-demand webinars available.
- Career Pathways Portal A centralized hub of career information where emerging and established trails professionals can explore career development options, find learning opportunities and jobs.
- Business Directory A directory providing free and paid online listings for organizations in the trails community.
- Resource Library A library containing thousands of categorized articles, documents, and studies on trail planning, design, construction, management, and related topics.
- Advancing Trails Awards A program recognizing the tremendous contributions of volunteers, professionals, and other leaders working to create an effective system of trails across the globe.
- Emerging Trail Leaders Program A program immersing young leaders in learning best practices and trends in the trails profession to help pave the path to careers in natural resource management.
- NRT Database A database of National Recreation Trails containing nearly 1,300 trails across America for all user types.
- Trails Capacity Program A program that funds projects across the nation to strategically improve the abilities and capacity of the trails community.
- Legacy Trails Program A program supporting projects that restore, protect, and maintain watersheds on National Forests and Grasslands.
- TrailTracks eNewsletter A monthly eNewsletter keeping subscribers apprised of cutting-edge hot topics in the trails industry, including funding and legislation opportunities.
- Foundations of Sustainable Trails e-Course An online training course covering trail planning from start to finish.
Quantifiable outcome
- Trained over 120,000 professionals through webinar series
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use American Trails
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles4 records
American Trails technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
American Trails partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- Coalition for Recreational Trails (CRT)coreCRT is a federation of the nation's leading national and regional trail-related organizations. American Trails participates in CRT which administers the Tom Petri Annual Achievement Awards recognizing outstanding Recreational Trails Program projects.
- Trails Move People CoalitioncoreAmerican Trails leads the Trails Move People Coalition which includes The Trail Fund initiative to assist the trails community with funding for maintenance, research, and stewardship training needs.
- Rails to Trails ConservancycoreRepresentation on American Trails Board of Directors (Vice-Chair Marianne Fowler). Partnership for trail advocacy and development.
- International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA)coreRepresentation on American Trails Board of Directors (Todd Keller). Partnership for mountain biking trail advocacy.
- AllTrailscoreRepresentation on American Trails Board of Directors (Cece Kirkwood). Partnership for trail access and data sharing.
- Utah Division of Outdoor RecreationmajorTrail Ambassador Partnership supporting outdoor recreation education and advocacy in Utah. Utah DNR is a Trail Ambassador partner.
- Professional Trailbuilders AssociationmajorTrail Boss Partner sponsorship supporting trail industry and professional development.
- Bedford Reinforced PlasticsminorTrail Boss Partner providing sponsorship for trail industry programs.
- Kafka GraniteminorTrail Boss Partner providing sponsorship for trail industry programs.
- iZone ImagingminorTrail Boss Partner providing sponsorship for trail industry programs.
- Winsor FireformminorTrail Boss Partner providing sponsorship for trail industry programs.
- TrailSkills (Eppley Institute, IMBA, USFS)coreCollaboration of over 30 partner organizations and agencies led by American Trails to develop the Trail Core Competency Framework with 80 competencies.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
American Trails competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Rails to Trails Conservancy: National nonprofit focused on converting former rail corridors into multi-use trails. Directly comparable to American Trails as a national trail advocacy and policy organization, and shares board representation (Marianne Fowler, Vice-Chair).
- International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA): National nonprofit focused on mountain biking trail access, advocacy, and education. Comparable in mission and member-based nonprofit structure, and shares board representation with American Trails (Todd Keller).
- American Hiking Society: National nonprofit advocating for hiking trails, trails funding, and volunteer trail stewardship. Closest direct peer in mission, model, and member base, focused on the hiking subset of the trail universe American Trails serves.
Emerging players
- National Park Trust: National nonprofit focused on completing land acquisition for national parks and supporting park stewardship. Comparable as a parks-and-trails advocacy nonprofit with education programs, though narrower in scope (parks vs. all trails).
- Leave No Trace: National nonprofit providing outdoor ethics education and training. Comparable in the educational-content and training-delivery dimension of American Trails' work, but focused on a single topic (ethical outdoor use) rather than trail infrastructure.
- Appalachian Mountain Club: Member-based outdoor recreation and conservation nonprofit operating trails, huts, and education programs in the Northeast. Comparable as a trails-and-education nonprofit, though with a more regional focus and direct trail operations.
Broad incumbents
- Trust for Public Land: National nonprofit focused on land conservation and creating parks/trails for public access. Broader in scope than American Trails (land conservation writ large) but overlaps significantly in trail creation and urban greenway work.
- National Recreation and Park Association: National membership organization for park and recreation professionals. Comparable as a member-based organization serving the same professional audience as American Trails, but with a broader scope (all parks/recreation vs. trails specifically).
- Outdoor Industry Association: Trade association representing outdoor recreation industry businesses. Adjacent to American Trails' audience, with overlapping interests in outdoor recreation policy and access, but focused on industry commerce rather than trail infrastructure.
- REI Co-op: National outdoor retail cooperative that also funds trail stewardship, advocacy, and grants. Comparable in its role supporting trail access and stewardship, but with vastly greater scale and a fundamentally different commercial model.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
American Trails social profiles
Digital presenceAmerican Trails financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
American Trails leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
American Trails funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
American Trails M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about American Trails
What does American Trails do?
American Trails is a national nonprofit organization that delivers trail education, advocacy, and resources to trail professionals, agencies, and communities across the United States. Its core offerings include the Advancing Trails Webinar Series (300+ on-demand webinars), the biennial International Trails Summit, the NRT Database of nearly 1,300 National Recreation Trails, the Trail Core Competency Framework, and grant funding programs (Trails Capacity Program and Legacy Trails Program). The organization also operates a Business Directory, Career Pathways Portal, and Resource Library, and connects 40,000+ monthly constituents through newsletters and coalition-based advocacy.
Is American Trails a public or private company?
American Trails is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was American Trails founded?
American Trails was founded in 1988. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is American Trails based?
American Trails is headquartered in Redding, United States, in the North America region.
How does American Trails make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Membership Program is the primary driver. The others are donations, sponsorships, business Directory and program Funding.
Who are American Trails's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Rails to Trails Conservancy, International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) and American Hiking Society. Emerging players are National Park Trust, Leave No Trace and Appalachian Mountain Club. Broad incumbents are Trust for Public Land, National Recreation and Park Association, Outdoor Industry Association and REI Co-op.
Does American Trails have an API?
No public API is recorded for American Trails.
What industry is American Trails in?
American Trails's product category is Trail Advocacy and Outdoor Recreation Education (Nonprofit Organization Services). Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJAKAM, Outdoor & Survival Skills Lessons (Bushcraft, Navigation, Foraging). Its NAICS code is 813312 and its SIC code is 8600.