Thank you for your interest in supporting Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s TrailLink.com mapping initiative. As outdoor enthusiasts and experienced GPS users, the geocaching community is uniquely qualified to assist us in achieving our mapping goal. Our challenge is to map the final 3,000 miles of open rail-trail by September 30, 2009.

Maps and the geospatial data support every aspect of our work–from trail building to trail policy to trail awareness. Every day, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy uses our mapping technology to work with communities and partners to help create a nationwide network of trail systems for the public.

We are currently publishing dynamic maps of all open rail-trails on TrailLink.com to enrich the trail experience. Your volunteer mapping efforts will support multiple purposes and a nation of trail users.


First you’ll want to find a trail to map. Simply search our trails database in the “Find a Trail” section to identify a trail that still needs to be mapped. The results from the search show a check mark next to any trail for which we already have data. If no check mark is present, we need data for that trail record.

How You Can Help Map:

You can map trails in two different ways.

Using Your GPS: Using your own GPS receiver while geocaching, you can turn on the track log functionality on your GPS and collect the trail route for us. And using your mark functionality you can collect waypoints (restrooms, drinking foundation, parking lots, start and end points, etc.)

You will need a GPS receiver capable of collecting the required data, and the necessary software tools to download data to a PC so it can be sent to us. The specifics of what we require are covered in our Trail Data Submission Standard for GPS document.

Using Our Online Interactive Tools: If you don’t have a GPS receiver, but know the trail like the back of your hand, you can use our Interactive Mapping Tool. Click here to get detailed mapping instructions using our interactive Google Maps application.

When you are ready to submit data using either of these methods, simply select your trail and submit data here.

Our Quality Control Process:

Regardless of the method you utilize to collect the data, our GIS team will apply our quality control procedures to all data submitted. Since consumer-grade GPS data is frequently inaccurate by hundreds of feet, all data submitted is checked for quality and accuracy against high-resolution aerial imagery and corrected as necessary. This step is critical in creating a high-quality spatial dataset.

Didn’t Find a Trail Near You to Map?

We still need your help! You can enrich and inform the trail experience of others by posting trail reviews and sharing your geocaching adventure with our Trailink.com community. You can also help us begin populating our library of geocoded trail photos. To get started, use our “Find a Trail” search, select your trail and share your content today!