Conservancy lists top autumn biking trails

Washington — Many tourism facilities close for the season at the end of October.

But bike trails are open year-round, and as long as the snow hasn’t fallen yet, they are a great way to see the foliage late in the season and enjoy the weather before it turns frosty. To encourage bikers, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has just put out a list of 12 of the country’s top trails for autumn cycling.

Those trails are Hockhocking Adena Bikeway in Ohio; Lake Accotink Trail in Virginia; Ashuwillticook Rail-Trail in Massachusetts; Airline South State Park Trail in Connecticut; Ashuelot Rail-Trail in New Hampshire; the Lehigh George State Park Trail in Pennsylvania; the Fred Meijer Heartland Trail in Michigan; the Northern Central Railroad Trail in Maryland; the Harlem Valley Rail Trail in upstate New York; the Elroy-Sparta State Trail in Wisconsin; the Big Rivers Regional Trail in Minnesota; and the Merced River Trail in California.

The conservancy promotes the conversion of abandoned rail beds to bicycle routes. For details, visit www.railtrails.org or call (202) 331-9696.

Service provides cell phones abroad

New York — Most cell phones that provide domestic service cannot be used in Europe, or the cost is prohibitive. But now Austrian Airlines is providing its passengers with mobile phone service for $5.95 a day — plus the cost of outgoing calls — for use in any of the airline’s destinations in central and Eastern Europe and Israel.

The phones are delivered to U.S. travelers before departure so the cell phone number can be given out. The phones can be returned from any U.S. mailbox using an envelope provided beforehand by the airline.

For more information, call (888) 451-9998.

Web site offers access to Caribbean hotels

Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands — Caribbean travelers can book small hotels online with a new Web engine launched by the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

DoitCaribbean.com is designed to offer consumers better access to some 1,000 small hotels in more than 30 countries in the region.