Eau Claire: The Economic Significance of the City’s Paved Trails and Public Art

As the largest city in western Wisconsin, Eau Claire focuses on building quality of life for its 70,000 residents and visitors. The city of Eau Claire has invested in over 17 miles of unpaved recreational trails and 57 miles of paved trails that wind throughout the city. The trail network spurs spending at local businesses, provides access to waterways and public art and contributes to the area’s broad outdoor recreation appeal that attracts new residents. To further enhance quality of life, the local visitors bureau, Visit Eau Claire, has installed free outdoor public art along the trails, in the downtown area and beyond, bringing vibrancy to the city.

These quality-of-life investments create significant impacts. Users of paved city trails support $4.1 million in local business activity through their spending at restaurants, coffee shops and other downtown businesses. The results also found that the trail network appeals to a wide age demographic and encourages most trail users to engage with other amenities such as area parks. Additionally, from a summer 2024 survey of residents and trail users, 29% of respondents who moved to Eau Claire from more than 40 miles away cited outdoor recreation as a key factor in their decision.

Trails and art not only support local businesses but also strengthen the community by providing accessible, year-round recreational opportunities that enhance residents’ quality of life and attract new visitors and residents to the city.

Studying how Eau Claire’s trails are used illuminates the benefits of investing in outdoor recreation and public art. It also points to ways to continue fueling additional outdoor recreation infrastructure while maintaining existing high-quality opportunities and assets for residents.

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