4 Benefits of Building Trails in Brownsville, Texas
Last year, the city of Brownsville, the National Parks Service, and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy teamed up with regional and local partners
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In the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas, the Caracara Trails is a vision for a 428-mile trail network that will link the rich natural, cultural and historical resources the area is known for—creating a unified regional identity for outdoor tourism, promoting healthier lifestyles and generating a new sense of community pride for everyone who lives there.
The vision for the trail network is built upon a comprehensive plan—the Lower Rio Grande Valley Active Transportation and Tourism Plan—that leverages the community’s commitment to local economic development in a county with one of the highest poverty rates in the country—and is designed to tap into the rapidly expanding market for “active tourism” to support job creation and small business activity and encourage tourist spending that injects money into local economies.
Sponsored by The Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation and the University of Texas School of Public Health—as well as the cities of Brownsville, Harlingen, Combes, Los Fresnos, Los Indios, Port Isabel, San Benito, South Padre Island, Rio Hondo, and the towns of Laguna Vista and Rancho Viejo—the Caracara Trails comprises 428 miles of trails—including 230 miles of multiuse trails, 120 miles of U.S. Bicycle Routes and 78 miles of paddling trails that will showcase the vast, expansive beauty of the region’s beaches, wildlife preserves, waterways, cultural sites and geographic landmarks.
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The Caracara Trails aims to become one of the finest and most extensive regionwide nonmotorized transportation networks in the U.S.—and to promote the Lower Rio Grande Valley as a worldwide magnet for active tourists, facilities and infrastructure. With a thriving local tourism economy concentrated around South Padre Island, the Caracara Trails could expand the geographic reach of local tourist expenditures, extend area visits and otherwise reduce seasonal lulls in tourist travel.
By providing equitable access to safe transportation corridors in some of Texas’ poorest and most underserved neighborhoods, the Caracara Trails will greatly increase access to safe places for recreation and physical activity for families who currently have none—empowering many to create new connections throughout the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The Caracara Trails will create new biking and walking connections to critical destinations such as jobs, educational institutions, grocery stores, health-care facilities, and outdoor and civic sites. Social cohesion, self-esteem, active lifestyles and access to desirable community destinations will be enhanced for all through the Caracara Trails.
The project will have an enormous economic impact on this highly impoverished but natural-resource-rich area for tourism, job creation and business development—injecting critical small-business investment and generating new tourism revenues along the project route. The Caracara Trails is expected to generate upwards of $40 million in tourist spending for the region in the 10-year period following completion—and the construction phase for the six catalyst projects are expected to generate an economic impact of $56 million.
When complete, the fully implemented Caracara Trails will comprise 230 miles of multiuse trails, 120 miles of U.S. Bicycle Routes and 78 miles of paddling trails. The first phase of the Caracara Trails involves creation of six catalyst projects that will include 57.5 miles of multiuse trails and on-road biking routes, and 18 miles of paddling trails.
When complete, the fully implemented Caracara Trails will comprise 230 miles of multiuse trails, 120 miles of U.S. Bicycle Routes and 78 miles of paddling trails. The first phase of the Caracara Trails involves creation of six catalyst projects that will include 57.5 miles of multiuse trails and on-road biking routes, and 18 miles of paddling trails.
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Last year, the city of Brownsville, the National Parks Service, and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy teamed up with regional and local partners
If you’ve ridden a bike in New York City, you’ve likely found yourself, perhaps unknowingly, on one of its designated
Imagine 428 miles of nature and culture at the reach of your fingertips–or in this instance, your feet. The Caracara
Headquarters:
901 E. Levee Street
Brownsville, TX 78520
Phone: 956.541.4955
Email | Contact Caracara Trails Project Manager
