Last updated: May 16, 2023
Article
River Town Review Toolkit: Connecting Rivers and Communities
Download the River Town Review Toolkit
Appendix A
Includes Trail/River Town examples, organizations, relevant toolkits, guides for engaging the public and gathering input, funding resources, economic impact information, etc.
Appendix B
Includes the River Town Review templates, forms, checklists, and documents, referred to in this toolkit. They are intended as examples that can be customized for your community. This Appendix will download as a .zip folder.
Is your community seeing greater numbers of residents and visitors using its trails, parks, rivers, and lakes? Have you noticed the economic benefits being realized by neighboring communities embracing outdoor recreation? Have you thought about what it would take to reach your outdoor recreation potential and become a more vibrant and successful river town? Do you want to investigate it first, at the local level, and without the need to hire architects, engineers, or consultants?
If you answered “yes,” or “we’re not sure” to the questions posed above, a River Town Review could prove to be a worthwhile exercise for your community. This River Town Review Toolkit will lead you through an assessment of your town’s outdoor recreation resources. It will then help you develop recommendations to enhance those resources, and in turn, bolster your local tourism economy. Through the process, you’ll answer basic questions such as:
- What outdoor recreation, river access, and tourism resources do we have? What do we lack, and how do we address those shortcomings?
- What nearby trails and outdoor recreation opportunities can we connect to?
- What are our upstream and downstream neighbors doing in regards to outdoor recreation? Are there opportunities for partnerships?
- Are we a pedestrian- and bike-friendly community? If not, how do we become one?
- Is it easy to find your way around town and to local services, attractions, the river, and trails?
- Are recreation and visitor services accessible, welcoming, and inclusive?
- What outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism related businesses do we have? What needs of outdoor recreation enthusiasts are not yet being met, and how do we meet them?