The goal is to provide trail information that helps entice tourists and visitors to spend an extra day or two exploring the landscape of northern Arizona, improving the economy of local towns, chapters and businesses. is to

The area includes District 5 of Coconino County, its Navajo Nation district, and portions of southern Utah.

Using the data collected, the Regional Trails Alliance (RTA) creates an overall area map and individual maps for each trail. The map is reproduced as an 8.5 x 11 double-sided full-color flyer, available to hikers at locations such as the Page Lake Powell Hub Tourist Information Center. A local hiking app and website will also be developed.

RTA project general coordinator Steve Mongrain uses GIS data collected on local trails to determine trail length, elevation, ascents and descents, safety requirements, rules and regulations on and around the page. Such.

“You can control the data you put out there,” he said at a Page Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting last month. “This app will begin to act as a foundation for the rest of the county in terms of developing trails. We hope it will become a planning device.”

This local control of data sets the RTA app apart from more global apps like AllTrails. AllTrails can help you find places to hike, but they often contain misinformation or include unofficial “social” trails.

As of last week, the RTA was collecting data on the Old Discovery Trail at Lake View Nature Park and the Hanging Gardens Trail at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

A short loop trail just north of Lake View Elementary School in Page, the Discovery Trail was founded by Daniel Murray in the early 1990s. This project was funded by a grant from Salt His River His Project, created a route, built a trail, painted his markers on the trail, and created a trail guide for Lake His View of His Adopted by 5th graders.

RTA Project Photographer and GIS Assistant Paul Ostapuk said:

“He had little pink stations that showed where to stop. He had the kids and some teachers put together a little guidebook. There were all the stops from A to N. A booklet I was able to carry around and read about it.There was artwork, some poems.It was cool.It was fun to have a true nature trail for the kids to discover and explore.”

For various reasons, the Discovery Trail was eventually abandoned and overgrown. The original route was on a 106-acre lot that was later set aside as Lake View Nature Park.

“Now that the Regional Trails Alliance is formed, they are looking for urban trails. One of the concepts we came up with was to revitalize the Discovery Trail. It’s easy,” says Ostapuk.

At last month’s Parks and Rec meeting, Mongrain explained the benefits of RTA-funded projects for visitors to the page.

“What do you have to offer the tourist who walks into the hub, picks up this 8.5 x 11 flyer about the Discovery Trail, and says, ‘My kids are little, let’s do this’?” he said.

“There’s a QR code out there that you scan and enter into your smartphone. What happens? , will be unique to trails in northern Arizona.”

The creation of RTA was first proposed by Coconino County 5th District Supervisor Lena Fowler in early 2017 after learning of the pending closure of the Navajo Power Plant near Page.

A series of meetings in mid-2018 and early 2020 resulted in a list of 22 existing trails, 10 trails in planning, and about five paid hiking operations. Most trails already exist and are known to the public. All usually have parking.

To fund this project, the Visit Arizona Initiative (VAI) Outdoor Recreation Revitalization Grant was awarded to the RTA in the amount of $71,232 in September 2022. The Coconino County Board of Supervisors approved the grant in early November 2022.

The grant will be offered on a reimbursable basis for two years from September 16, 2022 to September 16, 2024. If needed, we can provide another $5,000 as early as July 2023. The funds will be held by the Glen Canyon Conservancy.