Long-distance trail users, however, comprise the minority of recreation- ists. On the Appalachian Trail, just one percent of trail users are thru-hikers.

As visitors, we want to know “What’s the story of this place?”

The vast majority of those who put their boots on the A.T. are day, week- end, or “section” hikers. Most trail us- ers recreate more casually and have ac- cess to their personal vehicles or other transport during their trip, widening the possibilities of how we draw them into our places.

 demographics and behaviors. They tend to range from budget to luxury, competitive to casual, and frequent the trail users we don’t know enough about are those of the casual variety for whom the trail is just part of their travel motivation. For some, they’re in the midst of a “bucket list” trip or are on vacation and are spending appropriately. They may therefore be inclined to reward themselves when  shopping, museum stops, brewery tours, etc., and remember that most trail users have access to transporta- tion during their travels).

The Business Case for Curating Memorable Experiences

 Atlantic Canada that came to the U.S. to learn the “business of trails.” We toured communities and visited  to leverage the economic opportuni-  - heard from the owner of a book store we visited. His daily revenues were - son group. That’s pretty good for a Wednesday afternoon. Visiting trail users make up about 10 percent of the shop’s customer base, which is impres- sive considering it’s located nearly

Users, such as this cyclist on the High Trestle Trail in Iowa, have been found to spend an average of $69-$124 per day for overnight stays on trail-destination travel.

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