Going Places: Railtowns, Canaltowns, Rivertowns, GhostTowns – Now Trail Towns

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com There are railtowns, canaltowns, rivertowns, and to avoid the fate of becoming ghosttowns with the loss of railroads, canal and riverboats, and factories, many of these places are looking to become Trail Towns, serving the thousands streaming by on the leisure trails that have replaced the rail lines and towpaths. The trails are what bring people to these towns, revitalizing their economy and community, as our Rails to Trails Conservancy group of media people reporting on the progress of the 3,700-mile-long Great American Rail-Trail discover. As we set out on a newly repaved portion of the Ohio-Erie trail, we meet a couple from Wallisburg, Ontario, Canada. They spark our attention considering the plummeting (as much as 25%) in Canadian visits to the USA. What brought them, we ask. “Biking.” Why here? “Well, we did the Erie Canalway [353 miles from Buffalo to Albany, New York], and the Pittsburgh to DC [350 miles on