The National Trails System is a series of

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

s in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nation". There are four types of trails: the national scenic trails, national historic trails, national recreation trails, and connecting or side trails. The national trails provide opportunities for

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

and historic education, as well as horseback riding, biking,

camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...

, scenic driving, water sports, and other activities. The National Trails System consists of 11 national scenic trails, 21 national historic trails, over 1,300 national recreation trails, and seven connecting and side trails, as well as one national geologic trail, with a total length of more than . The scenic and historic trails are in every state, and Virginia and Wyoming have the most running through them, with six. In response to a call by President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

to have a cooperative program to build public trails for "the forgotten outdoorsmen of today" in both urban and backcountry areas, the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation released a report in 1966 entitled ''Trails for America''. The study made recommendations for a network of national scenic trails, park and forest trails, and metropolitan area trails to provide recreational opportunities, with evaluations of several possible trails, both scenic and historic. The program for long-distance natural trails was created on October 2, 1968, by the National Trails System Act, which also designated two national scenic trails, the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

and the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

, and requested that an additional fourteen trail routes be studied for possible inclusion. Sponsored by Senators

Henry M. Jackson Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson (May 31, 1912 – September 1, 1983) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. representative (1941–1953) and U.S. senator (1953–1983) from the state of Washington (state), Washington. A Cold W ...

and Gaylord Nelson and Representative Roy A. Taylor, part of the bill's impetus was threats of development along the Appalachian Trail, which was at risk of losing its wilderness character, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund was used to acquire lands. In 1978, as a result of the study of trails that were most significant for their historic associations, national historic trails were created as a new category with four trails designated that year. Since 1968, over forty trail routes have been studied for inclusion in the system. The scenic and historic trails are congressionally established

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

s, administered by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

(NPS),

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

(USFS), and/or

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

(BLM). These agencies may acquire lands to protect key rights of way, sites, resources and viewsheds, though the trails do not have fixed boundaries. They work in cooperation with each other, states, local governments,

land trust Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished from one another by the ways in which they are legally structured and by the purposes for which th ...

s, and private landowners to coordinate and protect lands and structures along these trails, enabling them to be accessible to the public. These partnerships between the agency administrators and local site managers are vital for resource protection and the visitor experience. The Federal Interagency Council on the National Trails System promotes collaboration and standardization in trail development and protection. National recreation trails and connecting and side trails do not require congressional action, but are recognized by actions of the secretary of the interior or the secretary of agriculture. The national trails are supported by volunteers at private non-profit organizations that work with the federal agencies under the Partnership for the National Trails System and other trail type-specific advocacy groups. For fiscal year 2021, the 24 trails administered by the NPS received a budget of $15.4 million.

National Scenic Trails

The eleven national scenic trails were established to provide outdoor recreation opportunities and to conserve portions of the natural landscape with significant scenic, natural, cultural, or historic importance. These trails are continuous non-motorized long-distance trails that can be backpacked from end-to-end or hiked for short segments, except for Natchez Trace NST, which consists of five shorter, disconnected trail segments. The ''Trails for America'' report said, "Each National Scenic Trail should stand out in its own right as a recreation resource of superlative quality and of physical challenge." Most notably, the national scenic trail system provides access to the crest of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

in the east via the

, of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

in the west on the

Continental Divide Trail The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (in short Continental Divide Trail, CDT) is a United States National Scenic Trail with a length measured by the Continental Divide Trail Coalition of between the U.S. border with Chihuahua (state), Chi ...

, and of the

Cascade Cascade, or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science * Air shower (physics), a cascade (particle shower) of subatomic particles and ionized nuclei ** Particle shower, a cascade of secondary particles produced as the result of a high ...

and

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

ranges on the

, which make up the

Triple Crown of Hiking The Triple Crown of Hiking refers to hiking the entire length of three major U.S. National Scenic Trails: * Appalachian Trail – , between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine and traversing North Carolina, Tennessee, Vi ...

. Other places of note include the southern

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s and Gulf Coast on the Florida Trail, the North Woods on the North Country Trail, the variety of southwestern mountains and ecosystems on the Arizona Trail, and the remote high-mountain landscape near the Canadian border on the Pacific Northwest Trail. They have a total length of approximately . Due to the extent of construction of route realignments, segment alternatives, and measurement methods, some sources vary in their distances reported and values may be rounded. Six trails are official units of the NPS, managed like its other areas, as long, linear parks. Five trails are overseen by the U.S. Forest Service. In 2022 Arlette Laan, whose trail name was "Apple Pie", became the first woman known to have completely hiked all eleven national scenic trails.

National Historic Trails

The 21 national historic trails are designated to protect the courses of significant overland or water routes that reflect the history of the nation. They represent the earliest European travels in the country in Chesapeake Bay and on Spanish royal roads; the nation's struggle for independence on the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail and Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route; westward migrations on the

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and Mormon Trails, which traverse some of the same route; and the development of continental commerce on the

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the ...

, Old Spanish Trail, and Pony Express. They also memorialize the forced displacement and hardships of the Native Americans on the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their black slaves within that were ethnically cleansed by the U ...

and Nez Perce National Historic Trail. Their routes follow the nationally significant, documented historical journeys of notable individuals or groups but are not necessarily meant to be continuously traversed today; they are largely networks of partner sites along marked auto routes rather than the exact non-motorized trails as originally used. Interpretative sites are often at other areas of the National Park System along the trails, as well as locally operated museums and sites. The

National Historic Trails Interpretive Center The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center (NHTIC) is an interpretive center about several of the National Historic Trails and is located northwest of Casper, Wyoming on Interstate 25. It is operated through a partnership between the B ...

in Wyoming is on the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express National Historic Trails and has exhibits on Western emigration. Nine are administered by the NPS National Trails Office in Santa Fe and Salt Lake City. National historic trails were authorized under the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 (), amending the National Trails System Act of 1968. They have a total length of approximately ; many trails include several branches making them much longer than a single end-to-end distance.

Connecting or side trails

The act also established a category of trails known as connecting or side trails. Though there are no guidelines for how these are managed, these have been designated by the secretary of the interior to extend trails beyond the original congressionally established route. Seven side trails have been designated: * Timms Hill Trail – , connects the

Ice Age Trail The Ice Age Trail is a National Scenic Trail stretching in the state of Wisconsin in the United States. The trail is administered by the National Park Service, and is constructed and maintained by private and public agencies including the Ice ...

to Wisconsin's highest point, Timms Hill (1990) * Anvik Connector – , joins the

Iditarod Trail The Iditarod Trail, also known historically as the Seward-to-Nome Trail, is a thousand-plus mile (1,600 km) historic and contemporary trail system in the US state of Alaska. The trail began as a composite of trails established by Alaska n ...

to the village of Anvik, Alaska (1990) *Susquehanna River Component Connecting Trail – , extends the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail up the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

in Pennsylvania and New York (2012)Map
/ref> *Chester River Component Connecting Trail – , extends the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail up the Chester River in Maryland (2012) *Upper Nanticoke River Component Connecting Trail – , extends the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail up the

Nanticoke River The Nanticoke River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. It rises in southern Kent County, Delaware, Kent County, Delaware, flows through Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex County, Delaware, and forms the boundary between ...

in Delaware (2012) *Upper James River Component Connecting Trail – , extends the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail up the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

in Virginia (2012) *Marion to Selma Connecting Trail – , connects the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail to Marion, Alabama, where Jimmie Lee Jackson was murdered in 1965 (2015)

National Recreation Trails

National recreation trail (NRT) is a designation given to existing trails that contribute to the recreational and conservation goals of a national network of trails. Over 1,300 trails over all fifty states have been designated as NRTs on federal, state, municipal, tribal and private lands that are available for public use and are less than a mile to more than in length. They have a combined length of more than . Most NRTs are hiking trails, but a significant number are multi-use trails or bike paths, including

rail trails A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corridor with active railways, lig ...

and greenways. Some are intended for use with watercraft, horses, cross-country skis, or off-road recreational vehicles. There are a number of water trails that make up the National Water Trails System subprogram. Eligible trails must be complete, well designed and maintained, and open to the public. The NPS and the USFS jointly administer the National Recreation Trails Program with help from other federal and nonprofit partners, notably American Trails, the lead

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

for developing and promoting NRTs. The secretary of interior or the secretary of agriculture (if on USFS land) designates national recreation trails that are of local and regional significance. Managers of eligible trails can apply for designation with the support of all landowners and their state's trail coordinator (if on non-federal land). Designated trails become part of the National Trails System and receive promotional benefits, use of the NRT logo, technical and networking assistance, and preference for funding through the Department of Transportation's

Recreational Trails Program The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) is a federal assistance program of the United States Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). It provides funds to the States to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail- ...

. American Trails sponsors an annual NRT photo contest and a biennial symposium and maintains the NRT database.

National Geologic Trail

The first national geologic trail was established by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, though it did not amend the National Trails System Act to create an official category.

National Scenic Trails

National Historic Trails

Connecting or side trails

National Recreation Trails

National Geologic Trail

See also

References

Further reading

External links