The Tour des Trees was born as an idea – a dream, really – in the minds of a few arborists at the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) conference in Philadelphia in 1991. They were looking for a way to create a growing source of funds for the ISA Research Trust, now known as TREE Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund), to support the very necessary research and education required to keep urban trees healthy and beautiful. Their dream was to use their passion for cycling as a means for promoting their love of trees.
The first Tour des Trees began a year later with 13 riders setting off from Seattle, WA, and ended over 900 miles later in Oakland, CA. It was a great success, and the beginning of a growing tradition. Over the past 27 years, the Tour des Trees has visited communities across the U.S., U.K., and Canada, increasing awareness of the importance of the urban forest and the science-based tree care that sustains it.
Past Tour Routes:
1992 Seattle, WA to Oakland, CA (900 to over 1,000 miles, depending on who you ask) Pre-ride article from ISA Rocky Mountain Chapter.
1993 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to Bismarck, ND (575 miles)
1994 Stowe, VT to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (600 miles)
1995 Mt. Airy, NC to Hilton Head, SC (615 miles)
1996 St. Ignace, MI to Cleveland, OH (600 miles)
1997 Coeur d’Alene, ID to Salt Lake City, UT (975 miles)
1998 Guildford to Birmingham, England (450 miles)
1999 Albany, NY to Stamford, CT (550 miles)
2000 Williamsburg, VA to Baltimore, MD (550 miles)
2001 Minneapolis, MN to Milwaukee, WI (500 miles)
2002 Seattle, WA to Vancouver, BC, Canada (585 miles)
2003 Ottawa, ON, Canada, Watertown, NY Burlington, VT, Montreal, PQ, Canada (575 miles)
2004 Philadelphia, PA to Pittsburgh, PA (425 miles)
2005 The Natchez Trace Jackson, MI to Nashville, TN (470 miles)
2006 Thunder Bay, ON, Canada to Minneapolis, MN (525 miles)
2007 Sacramento to San Jose, CA (520 miles)
2008 Indianapolis, IN to St. Louis, MO (470 miles)
2009 Tinton Falls, NJ to Providence, RI (500 miles)
2010 Chicago, IL to Chicago, IL (450 miles)
2011 Virginia Beach, VA to Washington, D.C. (480 miles)
2012 Banks, OR to Portland, OR (590 miles)
2013 Niagara Falls, ON to Toronto, ON (575 miles)
2014 Milwaukee, WI to Milwaukee, WI (583 miles)
2015 Orlando, FL to Ft. Lauderdale, FL (567 miles)
2016 Charlotte, NC to Charlotte, NC (610 miles)
2017 Maryland/Virginia/Washington, D.C. (587 miles)
2018 Columbus, OH to Cleveland, OH (580 miles)
2019 Nashville, TN to Nashville, TN (440 miles)
2020 Virtual Tour des Trees: Rollin’ in Place (46,149 virtual miles)
2021 Denver, CO to Denver, CO (320 miles)
2022 Des Moines, IA to Nebraska City, NE (460 miles)