National Trails System

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. Most notably, the national scenic trail system provides access to the crest of the Appalachian Mountains in the east via the Appalachian Trail, of the Rocky Mountains in the west on the Continental Divide Trail, and of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada ranges on the Pacific Crest Trail, which make up the Triple Crown of Hiking. Other places of note include the southern wetlands 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. 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. The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center 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 to Wisconsin's highest point, Timms Hill (1990) • Chester River Component Connecting Trail – , extends the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail up the Chester River in Maryland (2012) ==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 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. 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. == See also ==