 In June 2020 the Parks and Trails Legacy Partners embarked on a two-year research project to count visitors to the three system’s parks and trails. Coordination Among Partners funds have paid for this research project for the benefit of all. A data scientist was hired and is housed at the Metropolitan Council offices, working with support of their research team.
The scope of the project is to conduct a statewide analysis of parks and trails visitation, which for Greater Minnesota includes not only designated parks, but parks ranked “eligible for designation” as well. The data used for the research has come from StreetLight Data, Inc., a company that aggregates vast amounts of anonymized data gathered from cell phones to algorithmically transform the inputs into contextualized, aggregated and normalized travel patterns. In plain speaking, they can deliver insight into how vehicles, bikes, pedestrians and transit passengers move on virtually every road and in every Census Block. This information provides the data scientists with ways to count visitors to our system parks and trails. Information that in many parks and trails in Greater Minnesota, we simply do not have. While the date shows as May 13, 2022, the information has been updated as StreetLight Data has advanced with a recent algorithm update. Please know that the system park information study is complete, but trail research is still underway and will be released in the first quarter of 2023. We invite you to review the report, check park visitation for your park or against other parks in the Greater Minnesota system or our partner agencies; Metropolitan Council Regional Parks and DNR State Parks. American Trails, a 501c(3) non-profit organization, in conjunction with the Eastern Region (Region 9) of the USDA Forest Service (NF), is holding a series of meetings regarding the Forest Service's 10-Year Trail Shared Stewardship Challenge (Trail Challenge). The meetings will be a discussion of how we can collectively elevate the sustainability and experience of the NF trail systems. To that end, meetings have scheduled. Participants will include valued existing and potential new partners identified by the NF, staff from the Eastern Region and local forests, and the American Trails Team. The purpose of the meetings are to:
Meetings for the US National Forests in Minnesota will be:
Please send a message to Candace Gallagher with American Trails to let her know you will attend the meeting and what organization, municipality, or agency you represent by July 13th. The meeting will also feature a few partner organizations to give a brief 5-minute overview of a recent partnership success. Hopefully, these presentations will stimulate conversations and ideas about future possibilities. To let you know a little bit more about these meetings and the 10-Year Trail Shared Stewardship Challenge, the following information is provided:
These meetings are being held for all Eastern Region forests. If your organization works in more than one forest, you do not need to attend multiple meetings (unless you would like to).
Only one week remains until the return of the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission District Workshops! Don' t forget to register for the one you plan to attend - it helps us prepare for each stop. Registration Link: https://www.gmrptcommission.org/2022-district-workshops.html
Monday, April 25, 1:00 – 3:00PM District 5 (Southwest) @ Springfield Community Center, Springfield Monday, May 2, 1:00 – 3:00PM, District 2 (Northwest) @ Northland Regional Sports Park, Bemidji Tuesday, May 3, 10:00AM – 12:00PM, District 1 (Northeast) @ Mesabi Station, Eveleth With ZOOM online attendance option Wednesday, May 4, 10:30AM – 12:30PM, District 3 (West Central) @ Kensington Rune Stone Park Wednesday, May 11, 1:00 – 3:00PM, District 6 (Southeast) @ Quarry Hill Park, Rochester Thursday, May 12, 10:00AM – 12:00PM, District 4 (Central) @ Sherburne History Center, Becker We look forward to seeing you there! 
The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) will be holding FREE District-level workshops across Greater Minnesota in late April and May. Workshop attendees will explore trends in park and trail development across the regional system, learn more about the Commission’s application process, and meet GMRPTC Commissioners and staff.
Park and trail managers, city/county administrators, land commissioners, planning consultants and others responsible for regional-level parks and trails in Greater Minnesota are encouraged to attend. A workshop will be held in each of Greater Minnesota’s six districts, including one on-line session. Attendees are encouraged to register for the workshop in their area but may choose another session if the time is more convenient. Register online for any of the following workshops at https://www.gmrptcommission.org/2022-district-workshops.html. Monday, April 25, 1:00 – 3:00PM District 5 (Southwest) @ Springfield Community Center, Springfield Monday, May 2, 1:00 – 3:00PM, District 2 (Northwest) @ Northland Regional Sports Park, Bemidji Tuesday, May 3, 10:00AM – 12:00PM, District 1 (Northeast) @ Mesabi Station, Eveleth With ZOOM online attendance option Wednesday, May 4, 10:30AM – 12:30PM, District 3 (West Central) @ Kensington Rune Stone Park Wednesday, May 11, 1:00 – 3:00PM, District 6 (Southeast) @ Quarry Hill Park, Rochester Thursday, May 12, 10:00AM – 12:00PM, District 4 (Central) @ Sherburne History Center, Becker More information is available at the workshop registration website listed above. For additional information, contact System Plan Coordinator Joe Czapiewski at coordinator@gmrptcommission.org.
The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission is soliciting proposals from interested, qualified companies to conduct a camper satisfaction and demographic survey as well as collect and analyze camping expenditures with a goal of identifying a daily economic impact figure. Survey should also provide information on use patterns.
A total of seven (7) campgrounds in Greater Minnesota will be surveyed over the summer of 2022. The full RFP can be found HERE. Proposals are due April 8, 2022 and may be submitted to Renee Mattson, GMRPTC Executive Director, at renee.mattson@gmrptcommission.org. Contact Renee if you have any questions.
The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) is soliciting proposals from interested, qualified companies to conduct a user count and visitor intercept survey of three (3) of the mountain bike trail systems in Greater Minnesota during the summer of 2022.
1. Lake County Mountain Bike System 2. Tioga Recreation Area - Cohasset 3. Winona Bluffs Traverse - Winona Proposals are due no later than 6pm on Wednesday, March 11, 2022. See the information below for more details. GMRPTC Mountain Bike Survey RFP 2022 GMRPTC Trails Survey Instrument 2022
The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission coordinated a survey of three mountain bike systems in Greater Minnesota during the summer of 2021. The Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota was hired to conduct a visitor intercept survey and trail user counts at the Cook County Mountain Bike Trails, Duluth Traverse, and Detroit Mountain Recreation Area.
In this report you will find detailed information about the user counts and the visitor profiles for each system. The report begins with a trail county summary that provides a starting point to understand the unique differences and the similarities of the average daily traffic. If you have questions or comments, please contact Renee Mattson, Executive Director at renee.mattson@gmrptcommission.org, or Joe Czapiewski, System Plan Coordinator at coordinator@gmrptcommission.org. 2021 Mountain Bike System Survey Cover Letter 2021 Trail Count Summary Duluth Topline Report Duluth Traverse Visitor Profile 2021 Cook County Topline Report Cook County Visitor Profile 2021 Detroit Mountain Topline Report Detroit Mountain Visitor Profile 2021
The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission is pleased to announce a special Connecting People to the Outdoors Small Grant Fund.
The CPO grant fund of $212,053 is available to all designated Greater Minnesota facilities with the intent to encourage innovative ideas and nurture creative partnerships across facilities and with community partners. We recognize the hardships the pandemic has caused, and this special grant fund is created to allow our partners to imagine programs and activities they may not have considered due to budget constraints. The impact of creative thinking and partnering can have big results! Please see the attached application materials. For more information, contact System Plan Coordinator Joe Czapiewski at coordinator@gmrptcommission.org, or Executive Director Renee Mattson at renee.mattson@gmrptcommission.org. Funding Announcement and Guidelines Application Official Resolution Template
The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission has released its 2021 Policy and Planning Legislative Report. The report includes a review of the Legacy grant recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2023 funding cycle, the criteria and selection process used, as well as an overview of Greater Minnesota's regional system development.
The Commission received 20 eligible funding applications and were able to fund, in whole or in part, all 20 applications! With a $1,860,396 budget make-up due to COVID budget reductions in FY22, the Commission had an unprecedented $12,201,546 to award. Additionally, $212,053 was placed in a Connecting People with the Outdoors Small Grant Fund that will be used to fund programming, accessibility, and other CPO initiatives that may be modeled as prototype projects in other communities. Review the full 2021 Policy and Planning Report HERE. 
(December 8, 2021 – DULUTH, Minn.) People who enjoy outdoor recreation across Minnesota will soon have their experiences enhanced, once recommendations are approved to fund a record $12.2 million in improvements at 20 regional parks and trails across Greater Minnesota.
The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) just completed its application review process and will now ask the Minnesota Legislature to approve the recommendations through the Parks and Trails Legacy Fund, one of four funds created by the 2008 Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. The Legislature has annually approved GMRPTC requests, since Legacy Funds are already dedicated and may only be spent to support parks and trails of regional or statewide significance. “The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission received 20 eligible applications for grants during the 2023 fiscal year, and we’re pleased to recommend funding, in part or in whole, for their excellent approaches to improving parks and trails for users,” said GMRPTC Executive Director Renee Mattson. “We are also able to allocate $212,053 of that amount to create new opportunities for underserved communities.” Mattson said the Commission is establishing a Connecting People with the Outdoors Small Grant fund, which will be available to all 67 designated parks and trails in Greater Minnesota. Emphasis for grant criteria will be placed on increasing access for underserved and communities of color, enhancing handicap accessibility, transportation and programming. Grant fund applications will be available in early 2022. See the attached or linked press release below for the full list of 20 parks and trails recommended for funding. 2021 Greater Minnesota Parks and Trails Funding Press Release 
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