The first official nature trail was created in 1925 on the initiative of a museum director in the
Palisades Interstate Park in
New York and
New Jersey in the United States. The first nature trail in the United States was created at Harriman State Park's Station for the Study of Insects, established by
Frank E. Lutz of the
American Museum of Natural History in cooperation with the
Palisades Interstate Park. Lutz developed a trail around the station and posted small signs to identify interesting trees, plants, insect haunts, and other natural features. In so doing, he created the first nature trail in the United States. In 1926 Lutz transplanted his educational techniques and scientific interest to Bear Mountain by establishing the Trailside Museum in cooperation with the American Museum of Natural History. The Trailside Museum and Wildlife Center remains a significant asset for the PIPC. At the beginning of the nature trail, the first sign read: "The spirit of the training trail: a friend somewhat versed in natural history is taking a walk with you and calling your attention to interesting things." In 1930 the first nature trail was laid out in Germany. In the 1950s there was a sudden increase in nature trails in Germany, as growing urbanization led to a growth in the demand for recreation and an increase in car use led to greater mobility. From the 1960s in Germany nature trails were established primarily as forest trails to guide visitors. Most of them were signed paths that portrayed the forest ecosystem as worthy of protection in order to restrict the flood of urban drivers seeking recreation in natural areas. For this reason, circular nature trails were attached, initially, especially to large car parks on the edge of forests. In 1970 after the "European Nature Conservation Year" in Germany, the first Swiss nature trails were also established. At the beginning of the 1980s in Germany, nature trails were not just laid out as ordinary signed paths in which knowledge was conveyed by the written word only, but as trails where the perception and experience of nature with the senses was made more central. In 1998 it was estimated that the number of nature trails in Germany was around 1,000. Of these, 85% were forest and nature trails, and only 3% were nature experience trails. Since 2000 new media have increasingly been integrated into nature trails. ==Special types==