When Pennsylvania went into lockdown in March of 2020, PEC began studying how the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting trail use in Pennsylvania, and how trail managers were coping with those impacts. The initial round of research, published in June, showed a marked increase in trail activity across the state.
As summer turned to fall, we wondered how the trend was holding up, so we commissioned a followup study looking beyond the traditional trail season. The research showed that use numbers remained high throughout 2020, suggesting a permanent behavior change among many users, and further underscoring the need to support trails and outdoor recreation assets in the Commonwealth.
Learn more and download both reports here.