The Kentucky Trail Town program was initiated in 2012 and guides communities in ways to take advantage of adventure tourism for community and economic development purposes. The Kentucky Department of Tourism, Office of Adventure Tourism facilitates the community and economic development initiative through trails as a resource-based approach. Communities are guided through three topical phases for creating a working trail town: community building, physical assessment, and economic structures and promotions. Next, communities test their trail town initiative and structure an action plan with a set of target goals. The core of the program is based on such geographically advantageous communities benefiting from increased tourism activities along recreational trails and rivers, and through the overall preservation of natural resources. Therefore, Trail Town designated communities typically are established in close proximity to renowned recreational trails such as those found in national or state parks.

Since 2013, 17 Trail Town designations have been celebrated with 18 communities in 17 counties that are spread throughout the state, but particularly in and around the Daniel Boone National Forest which includes the Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail. Furthermore, certified Trail Town communities have identified several state parks and trail systems, among other types of natural resources and trails, to be important to their potential economies. However, the success and effectiveness of Trail Town performances are at its infancy as communities are continuing to establish and maintain adventure tourism amenities and services near their major trailheads and core areas of town. Through the Trail Town program initiative, communities could benefit through further consideration of resource management goals to preserve their landscape characteristics and place identity.

The first set of Trail Towns assessment findings with an emphasis on wayfinding was presented at the joint 2016 Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Professionals/National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (ANREP/NACDEP) conference in Burlington, VT. As a result of the presentation, in 2017 Extension educators in three New England states (New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut) reached out to the UK community design extension program for a multi-state collaboration to learn what could be applied to their regional context for effective downtown and trail connections from KY Trail Towns. In 2018, the collaborators visited four Kentucky Trail Towns (Berea, Livingston, Morehead, and Olive Hill), and met with the Trail Town task force committee members. The knowledge and experiences shared through the multi-state collaboration will be later structured into a guide applicable for New England communities.