FRUITA, Colo. (BRAIN) — Local retailer Over the Edge Sports and the City of Fruita are hosting a three-day meeting here in October devoted to trails-based economic development.
Registration is now open for 100 seat at T.H.E Trail Summit, which is Oct. 10-12. T.H.E. stands for "Trails Humanity Experience."
Fruita began rebuilding its economy 24 years ago by building miles of mountain bike trails near town, in hopes of developing a mountain bike tourism business to complement the area's boom and bust energy industry.
The summit will discuss how communities can differentiate themselves as competition has skyrocketed.
"Today an immeasurable number of places are grabbing for the attention of the mountain bike audience ... So why isn't every town that has great singletrack the hottest new destination? The paths to success are blurry; trail style and user demographics are getting confused and are setting the stage for failed efforts, wasted funds and scars across the land," organizers said.
The summit is being aimed at trails/bike industry professionals, community leaders, local, regional and state land managers, trail designers and builders, tourism professionals, community stakeholders, project managers and leaders, trail/recreation volunteers, advocacy representatives, and individuals that are committed to trail projects.
Each day of the summit will have a theme that will be explored through discussions, speakers, panels, experiential learning, and social/networking opportunities.
A list of speakers and an agenda is on the event's website, thetrailsummit.com.
