The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) has teamed up with national accessibility expert Bill Botten to enhance the accessibility of Greater Minnesota's regional facilities. A key part of this cooperation will be a series of webinar forums regarding aspects of different features commonly found in parks or as part of trails.

The second forum, titled Pedestrian Trails and Shared Use Paths, will take place from 11:30am - 1:00pm on Tuesday, April 15. This seminar will review the differences between accessible pedestrian trails and shared use paths. We will review the technical and scoping requirements in the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Accessibility Standards for newly constructed or altered pedestrian trails on federal sites and that serves as a best practice for state and local government pedestrian trail facilities. Additionally, the final scoping and technical guidelines for shared use paths which are designed primarily for use by bicyclists and pedestrians for transportation and recreation purposes will be addressed. In addition to an overview of the requirements for both pedestrian trails and shared use paths, the presenter will address participants’ questions and share common sources of confusion with these unique recreational facilities.

Accessibility Forum Series

For more information on the Accessibility Forum Series or to learn about our presenter Bill Botten, please check out the link below.

Welcome to the latest news from the GMRPTC! In this issue you'll hear about the February Accessibility forum and how to register for the next one in April; we will highlight upcoming funding application opportunities; a new partner designee in the Greater Minnesota regional system will be introduced; and you'll find out about a great new partnership with IMBA to hold their national Trail Labs in Minnesota this spring.

On February 18, 2025, the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) hosted a forum on accessible play areas, led by national accessibility expert Bill Botten. The event focused on the importance of meeting accessibility standards in playground development and maintenance. The first of four forums planned for 2025 was well attended with more than 50 participants.

Botten, who has extensive experience in accessibility issues related to recreation facilities and outdoor developed areas, shared his expertise on the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. He emphasized the need for inclusive play areas that cater to children of all abilities, ensuring that everyone can participate, enjoy, and experience park facilities.

The forum covered various aspects of accessible play components, including ground-level and elevated accessible routes, play area surfaces, transfer systems, soft contained play structures, and water play components. Botten also addressed the scoping and technical requirements for newly designed or constructed play areas, as well as the importance of routine maintenance to identify and address potentially hazardous conditions.

Participants had the opportunity to ask questions about common sources of confusion with accessible play areas and surfaces. The forum provided valuable insights and practical guidance for enhancing accessibility in parks and recreation areas.

Forum #2: Pedestrian Trail and Shared Use Paths

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

11:30am - 1:00pm central

Enjoying a hike, a bike ride, a walk, a run, or a roll along a scenic route is a healthy way to spend time. This seminar will review the differences between accessible pedestrian trails and shared use paths. This session will review the technical and scoping requirements in the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Accessibility Standards for newly constructed or altered pedestrian trails on federal sites and that serves as a best practice for state and local government pedestrian trail facilities. Additionally, the final scoping and technical guidelines for shared use paths which are designed primarily for use by bicyclists and pedestrians for transportation and recreation purposes will be addressed. In addition to an overview of the requirements for both pedestrian trail and shared use paths, the presenter will address participant's questions and share common sources of confusion with these unique recreational facilities.

2025 Funding Application Announcements!

The GMRPTC announces several grant opportunities that open for Regionally Designated facilities starting April 1, 2025!

The Commission's traditional infrastructure Legacy grants, now called the Legacy Development and Acquisition grant, along with the programming and accessibility-based Connect People and the Outdoors (CPO) grants, are available starting April 1. Applications for these two grants are due July 31, 2025 and are available for projects that start in fiscal year 2027.

In addition, we are excited to announce two other new grant opportunities. Environmental/Archeological grants are earmarked for environmental/archeological review projects, prior to the application and funding for Legacy Development and Acquisition grants. Accessibility and Inclusion grants are designed to improve accessibility and inclusivity for the widest range of users of all abilities and ages. Inclusion provides equal access to recreation opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized, such as those who have physical or intellectual disabilities.

Both of these new, targeted grant opportunities will have initial funding pools of $250,000 each. Applications will open on April 1 and will remain open until funding is exhausted. Project funding will be available for contract starting July 1, 2025.

In support of the Accessibility and Inclusion grants, the Commission is offering a limited number of accessibility audits conducted by consultant Bill Botten. Contact Commission staff if you are interested in learning more about barrier removal and improvement opportunities for your park or trail.

All funding applications must be completed in the online application portal, linked at the button below. Details on each grant can be found in the Funding Application Guidelines in the application toolbox, along with content instructions, templates, and other information.

Please contact Commission staff to discuss your project at your earliest convenience!

Welcome, Chisholm Redhead Mountain Bike Park, to the Greater Minnesota Regional System!

At their March 2025 meeting, the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission reviewed the Master Plan and evaluation for the Redhead Mountain Bike Park in Chisholm, MN. After careful consideration, the Commission unanimously approved Redhead's application to become part of the Greater Minnesota system!

Redhead Mountain Bike Park is a series of ten idled iron mine pits turned world-class mountain bike park. Multi-use trails traverse the red cliffside above the aqua-blue pit lakes, offering a panorama that is incomparable in the Midwest. With over 20,000 visits in 2022, Redhead is an economic driver for the region and the City of Chisholm.

Speaking of mountain biking...













The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is set to bring its renowned Trial Labs Foundations to Minnesota in 2025, marking a significnat milestone for the state's mountian biking community. These two-day intensive workshops, designed to catalyze the next generation of great places to ride, will be hosted in Winona and Duluth, providing a unique opportunity for local enthusiasts and professionals to learn from the best in the industry.

What are IMBA Trail Labs?

IMBA Trail Labs are comprehensive workshops that guide participants through the process of creating a model community trail system. The curriculum covers planning, design, building, activation, promotion, and measuring success. Attendees will gain insights from IMBA staff, trail industry experts, and local stakeholders, ensuring they leave with the knowledge and guidance needed to develop sustainable and engaging trail systems.

Why Minnesota?

For the past several years, IMBA Trail Labs have been hosted amost exclusively in Bentonville, Arkansas. The decision to bring these workshops to Minnesota is a testament ot the state's growing reputation as a premier destination for mountain biking. Hosting the Trail Labs in Winona and Duluth will not only provide an economic boost to these communities but also offer Minnesotans the chance to attend these valuable sessions without having to travel far.

Workshop Details

The first Trail Lab of 2025 will be held in Winona on May 7-8, followed by a session in Duluth on October 1-2. These workshops are tailored for land managers, community officials, recreation professionals, and tourism/economic development staff. Participants will also have the opportunity to view firsthand the host community's mountain bike trails through field visits, gaining practical insights into the components of an intentional and diverse trail system.

The Impact

The arrival of IMBA Trial Labs in Minnesota is expected to have a lasting impact on the state's mountain biking landscape. By equipping local stakeholders with the tools and knowledge to create world-class trail systems, these workshops will help foster a vibrant and sustainable mountain biking community. Additionally, the exposure and promotion provided by IMBA will highlight the exceptional trails in Winona and Duluth, attracting riders from across the region and beyond.

The IMBA Trail Labs coming to Minnesota in 2025 represent a significant opportunity for the state's mountain biking community. With workshops designed to educate and inspire, Minnesota is poised to become an even more prominent destination for mountain biking enthusiasts.

Welcome to the new GMRPTC newsletter! This issue focuses on the Commission's new accessibility and inclusivity initiatives - check it out! Please share this first issue with friends and colleagues who might be interested. If you didn't receive this issue directly from us, please scroll to the bottom of the newsletter and sign up to get on our list for future issues!

Letter from the Executive Director
Advancing Accessibility in Greater Minnesota's Parks and Trails
It is exciting to share the Commission's latest initiative, to enhance accessibility across Greater Minnesota's parks and trails. Our commitment to inclusivity means ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability, can fully enjoy the natural beauty our state has to offer. To achieve this, we are collaborating with accessibility specialist Bill Botten, whose expertise will help guide us in making our outdoor spaces more welcoming, enjoyable and navigable for all.

This initiative will focus on educational forums, evaluating existing facilities and trails as requested, and identifying areas for improvement. With Bill's vast knowledge we will identify best practices in universal design and make that information available to all, whether part of the Greater Minnesota system or not. Our goal is to help achieve a standard for accessibility in outdoor recreation. We look forward to working together to ensure that access to the outdoors is open and enjoyable for everyone.

Sincerely,
Renee Mattson, Executive Director
GMRPTC

Register for GMRPTC/GMPT Accessibility Forums!
The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) and Greater Minnesota Parks and Trails (GMPT) has teamed up with national accessibility expert Bill Botten to enhance the accessibility of Greater Minnesota regional facilities. A key part of this opportunity will be a series of webinar forums exploring accessibility standards for different features commonly found in parks or trails.

These sessions will be offered on a quarterly basis in 2025 for all regional and prospective regional partners, Legacy partners, as well as others interested in accessibility in outdoor recreation through the GMPT organization.

Online registration is required. Use the link below to register for the first forum.

Forum #1: Playground Development and Maintenance
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
11:30am - 1:00pm

Meeting the minimum accessibility design standards for play and recreation areas is the first step to ensuring everyone can participate, enjoy, and experience park and play area facilities. This seminar will review the requirements for play areas in the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design Standards that apply to all newly designed or constructed play areas for children ages 2 and older. This session will address the scoping and technical requirements for accessible play components, ground-level and elevated accessible routes, play area surfaces, transfer systems, soft contained play structures, and water play components. Additionally, a discussion on the alteration of existing play areas and requirements for routine maintenance to properly identify and address potentially hazardous conditions. In addition to an overview of the play area provisions, the presenter will address participants' questions and share common sources of confusion with accessible play areas and play area surfaces.

Future Forums
Save the Date:Forum #2: Pedestrian Trails and Shared Use Paths
Tuesday April 15, 2025
11:30am - 1:00pm

Enjoying a hike, a bike ride, a walk, or a roll along a scenic route is a healthy way to spend time. This seminar will review the differences between accessible pedestrian trails and shared use paths. This session will review the technical an scoping requirements in the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Accessibility Standards for newly constructed or altered pedestrian trails on federal sites and that serves as a best practice for state and local government pedestrian trail facilities. Additionally, the final scoping and technical guidelines for shared use paths which are designed primarily for use by bicyclists and pedestrians for transportation and recreation purposes will be addressed. In addition to an overview of the requirements for both pedestrian trails and shared use paths, the presenter will address participants' questions and share common sources of confusion with these unique recreation facilities.

More on Accessibility Expert Bill Botten
William "Bill" Botten, an Exercise Physiology graduate from the University of Kansas, joined the U.S. Access Board in 2000. Recently retired, he served for 22 years as an accessibility specialist, technical assistance coordinator, and the training coordinator for the federal designation agency that develops the accessibility standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). Bill specializes in accessibility issues related to recreation facilities and outdoor developed areas including recreational boating and fishing facilities, pedestrian trails, picnic and camping facilities, sports facilities, and play areas.

His training experience includes hundreds of presentations over the last 30 years to local, state, and national audiences on injury prevention, disability awareness and sensitivity, and accessibility issues. He was part of a team that developed the combined guidelines for the ADA and ABA laws and was the lead staff for the development of guidelines for outdoor developed areas. Additionally, he has participated in several ASTM (an accessibility standards organization) and RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America) committees for inclusive fitness equipment and play area surfaces.

Accessibility Audit Opportunity Through the GMRPTC
In addition to presenting at the quarterly forums, the GMRPTC is going to provide a limited number of regional parks and trails an opportunity to conduct accessibility audits of their facilities with Bill Botten. These audits are geared towards facilities that are in the Master Planning process or have older facilities that may not meet current accessibility standards. Audits will give those facilities a better understanding as to what changes can help improve access, resulting in small investments that can reduce barriers or even future Legacy development projects that can make a bigger impact.

Note that facilities currently applying for or have received recent funding should be working accessibility into their design process. If you are interested in participating in this audit process, please email System Plan Coordinator Joe Czapiewski at [email protected] for more information and to be placed on the interest list.

GMRPTC Unveils New Value Statement for Inclusion
The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission unveiled its Value Statement for Inclusion at the January 21, 2025 Grantee Meeting in St. Cloud. This statement, which includes its vision for how inclusion and accessibility can be incorporated across the planning and implementation cycle, is geared towards helping our regional partners to not only meet basic required accessibility codes but achieve a higher standard of inclusion for all users.
Value Statement for Inclusion
Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission believes that nature and outdoor recreation belong to everyone. We are committed to creating and maintaining parks and trails that are accessible, inclusive, and welcoming to all individuals, regardless of their abilities Our dedication to inclusion reflects our core values of equity and respect for every visitor.

Our Commitment to Inclusion:
Universal Design: We promote universal design principles in all projects to ensure parks and trails are navigable and enjoyable for people of all abilities. This includes well-maintained pathways, accessible restrooms, and appropriate signage.

Inclusive Experiences: We encourage our facilities to provide diverse recreational opportunities that accommodate the needs of everyone, from adaptive sports to sensory-friendly activities, ensuring everyone can connect with nature in a meaningful way.

Community Engagement: We encourage active conversations with the community, including individuals of all abilities and advocacy groups, to gather feedback to continuously improve the accessibility of facilities and programs.

Education and Training: Our designated facilities educate their staff and volunteers about the importance of inclusion and provide them with the tools and training needed to support all visitors effectively.

Connection to Nature and the Outdoors: We believe facilitating opportunities to connect people of all abilities with nature fosters an appreciation for the outdoors and the environment.

Continuous Improvement: Inclusion is an ongoing process. We encourage facilities to regularly assess and upgrade their facilities and programs to meet evolving standards and the diverse needs of their community. We are committed to staying informed about best practices and innovative to ensure everyone can participate.

New Accessibility Grant Opportunity
In order to support all of this accessibility work, the GMRPTC is establishing a new grant opportunity focused on accessibility. Each year, the Commission plans to set aside a part of its grant funds for smaller facility accessibility improvement projects. The funds will be available each year on an ongoing application basis until funds are exhausted and will be available for immediate contract.

The idea is for Legacy-eligible regional parks and trails to make incremental, low-cost changes that improve accessibility in areas that are not being targeted for full development projects. For example, a park that has a 10 year old day-use area with inaccessible restroom doors and walkways would be able to apply for this grant now, instead of waiting for the next development cycle a decade or more in the future.

Keep an eye out for full program details and funding availability in a future newsletter. The Commission hopes to release program details in this year's funding guidelines and criteria later in the spring.

Review of January GMRPTC Grantee Meeting in St. Cloud
Nearly 70 GMRPTC regional partners, Legacy partners and consultants participated in a half-day Grantee Meeting on January 21 in St. Cloud. In addition to an overview of Commission opportunities, participants heard from Accessibility expert Bill Botten, SHPO partners Kelly Gragg-Johnson and Lucy Harrington, and DNR Grant Managers Sarah Wennerberg and Jenni Bubke.

For access to the full slideshow and segment videos, please visit the Grant Management section of the application toolbox, linked at the button below.

The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) has teamed up with national accessibility expert Bill Botten to enhance the accessibility of the greater Minnesota regional facilities.  A key part of this cooperation will be a series of webinar forums regarding aspects of different features commonly found in parks or as part of trails.

These sessions will be offered on a quarterly basis in 2025 for all regional and prospective regional partners, Legacy partners, and others interested in accessibility in outdoor recreation.

Online registration is required. Links to the webinars will be sent to all registered participants.

Registration is on the GMRPTC Accessibility Page.

William "Bill" Botten, an Exercise Physiology graduate from the University of Kansas, joined the U.S. Access Board in 2000.  Recently retired, he served for 22 years as an accessibility specialist, technical assistance coordinator, and the training coordinator for the federal designated agency that develops the accessibility standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA).  Bill specializes in accessibility issues related recreation facilities and outdoor developed areas including recreational boating and fishing facilities, pedestrian trails, picnic and camping facilities, sports facilities, and play areas. 

His training experience includes hundreds of presentations over the last 30 years to local, state, and national audiences on injury prevention, disability awareness and sensitivity, and accessibility issues.  He was part of a team that developed the combined guidelines for the ADA and ABA laws and was the lead staff for the development of guidelines for outdoor developed areas.  Additionally, he has participate on several ASTM (an accessibility standards organization) and RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America) committees for inclusive fitness equipment and play area surfaces.

The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) has released its 2024 Policy and Planning Report. The report, due to the Legislative Legacy Committees by January 15 each year, includes a review of the Legacy grant recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2026 funding cycle, the criteria and selection process used, an overview of Greater Minnesota's regional system development, and milestone achievements for the calendar year.

The Chair of the Commission, Rick Anderson, introduces the report by describing the Commission and its processes as nimble.  He defines the descriptor as an approach that listens to and works with the designated facilities to find solutions that will work for the projects and the health of the system.  One aspect highlighted to this approach is to open the Environmental and Archeological Review Grant available all year instead of during a specific time period.

Partnerships are vital to the GMRPTC.  Working with our partners, GMRPTC kicked off the Minnesota Parks Artist in Residence (MNPAiR) program which will enhance the public's experience in the park facilities. GMRPTC has also received a contract with our partners at the International Mountain Bike Associations (IMBA) to host its mountain bike Trail Labs in Minnesota for the next three years.

This year, Greater Minnesota system continues to grow adding 3 facilities for a total of 80 regionally designated parks, trails, and special feature facilities across 80 Greater Minnesota counties.

The Commission recommends $13,492,038 in awards to 14 applicants across the State.  At least one project in each of the six districts was funded.  Emerging Opportunity grants were funded for 3 projects for a total of $1,914,033.
 
The full report is available for download here.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Parks and Trails Division, the Metropolitan Council Metropolitan Regional Parks, and the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission are partnering with Forecast Public Art to launch Creating Belonging in Minnesota Parks — Artist Residency in the Parks Pilot Program in parks across Minnesota exploring community and belonging. The selected Minnesota-based artists-in-residence will research and engage with a park, trail or park system and its communities and then use that research to develop new work(s). Unlike traditional residency opportunities, this program focuses on how artists can serve as partners to and ambassadors for the parks and contribute not just art, but ideas.

The goal of the Minnesota Parks Artist-in-Residence Pilot Program is to enhance a sense of welcoming and belonging to park users. We hope that this pilot helps foster deeper community engagement and relationship-building in state and regional parks; improves access to Minnesota parks and trails; and increases collective appreciation for park uses, outdoor recreation, and natural resources, especially in underserved communities.

This is a paid opportunity for artists that aims to address unique opportunities and challenges around creating belonging in our public parks. This residency is modeled on artist residencies in government, which embed artists into public systems. Embedding an artist in a park or a park system will allow the selected artists to apply their own creative perspectives and skills to foster a greater sense of belonging. All selected artists will be a part of a cohort of 9, and will meet with other artists regularly to foster a sense of community and to share ideas.

Legacy funds dedicated to coordination among partner agencies will fund artists’ time, and project materials/expenses. The artwork will be determined in collaboration between the artist and the host site. Artists will also build connections in the local community and could collaborate with other parks in the region. Artistic outputs may take the form of community conversations, music/dance/theater/performance, ephemeral installations, 3D sculpture, projection/lighting projects, and other temporary works. Artists will spend an average of 20 hours each week from July 2024 – June 2025 as the Artist-in-Residence.

Artist-in-Residence position
Timeline: 12 months (August 2024 to August 2025)
Time commitment: average 20 hours/week (part-time)
Stipend: $40,000; Materials budget: $14,000
Location: A Minnesota park or a park system (find the full list of host sites at the Submittable application link)
Deadline to apply: July 21, 2024, 11:59 pm
Information session: Tuesday, June 25, 2024, 4:00 pm (Register for information session)

See the website for additional information.

The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) has released its 2023 Policy and Planning Report. The report, due to the Legislative Legacy Committees by January 15 each year, includes a review of the Legacy grant recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2025 funding cycle, the criteria and selection process used, an overview of Greater Minnesota's regional system development, and milestone achievements for the calendar year.

The Mountain Bike Trail Development – Guidelines for Successfully Managing the Process guidebook, created in conjunction with the International Mountain Bike Association and Rock Solid Trail Contracting, was published in May.  A groundbreaking report was released capping a 2-year survey project as part of the Parks and Trails Legacy Partners which surveyed park usage using state-of-the-art location based data.

The Greater Minnesota system continues to grow adding 8 facilities in 2023 for a total of 77 regionally designated parks, trails, and special feature facilities across 80 Greater Minnesota counties.

The Commission received 20 eligible funding applications and recommend $16,354,035 in awards to 14 applicants and an emerging opportunities fund.
 
The full report is available for download here.

Understanding visitation to Minnesota’s parks and trails is essential for planning, programming, and investment decisions. Visitation estimates generally rely on methods such as intercept surveys, in-field visitation counts, and automated trail counters. Visitation estimates using passively-generated data sources may offer opportunities to complement existing strategies.
This project used aggregated and anonymized location-based services (LBS) data to estimate and evaluate visitation to Minnesota parks and trails. LBS data gives information about when and where people travel. This approach provides unprecedented detail about how visitors use parks and trails and broadly describes who those visitors are. Visitation and use patterns can be analyzed at annual, monthly, weekly, and hourly time intervals. This data makes it possible to understand how people travel to parks and trails and where they are coming from. This data is intended to supplement, but not replace existing data used for decision making.

In addition to the full report published previously, this project has been enhanced by an interactive webpage.  The webpage simplifies the reading of the report by breaking it into sections for an overview, parks, trails, frequently asked questions, etc.  Each section also includes interactive pieces to all the viewer to look at results for individual parks and trails or to view the information for just the MN Department of Natural Resources parks and trails, the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails, and the Twin Cities Metro parks and trails.

This project was created by a collaboration of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission, and ten metropolitan regional park implementing agencies.  This project used funds from the State of Minnesota Parks and Trail Legacy Fund.

Minnesota Parks and Trails Usage Report Website

The new guidebook for mountain bike trail creation, Mountain Bike Trail Development: Guidelines for Successfully Managing the Process are the world’s most comprehensive mountain bike trail resource.  Four years in the making, the guidelines are made possible by Clean Water, Land and Legacy amendment funding.  While the GMRPTC conceived of and spearheaded the project, other agencies recognized the importance of the guidelines and assisted with content development and review.  We are pleased to partner with IMBA (the International Mountain Bicycling Association) and Rock Solid Trail Contracting, along with author Jake Carsten to bring this guide to fruition.
 
Access the Guidelines via a free online Flipbook.
Download a PDF file of the guidebook (116MB).

Get additional information regarding the Guidelines.

Club Mesabi is the "Friends" organization of the Mesabi Trail, a paved bicycle trail stretching from Grand Rapids to Ely. The Trail is owned and managed by the St Louis and Lake Counties Regional Rail Authority (RRA). Club Mesabi is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, separate & autonomous from the RRA with its own Board of Directors. Club Mesabi is under contract with the RRA to fulfill our stated mission – "To promote and support the Mesabi Trail and educate and advocate for use of the Trail as part of a healthy lifestyle". Club Mesabi hosts an annual bicycle tour on the Mesabi Trail.

Go to https://mesabitrail.com/club-mesabi-executive-director/ for more information and to apply.  Applications are due on March 31, 2023.