What do Wisconsin's Ice Age Trail, Boston's Freedom Trail, California's Twenty Mule Team Trail, and Tennessee's Old Hickory Trail have in common? All are National Recreation Trails, designated under the National Trails System Act. In the 10 years since the passage of the Act, over 130 trails across the Nation have been added to the system by the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture.

Displayed along the Illinois Prairie Path are both the uniform marker for the National Trails System and the path's own unique marker. (Photo by Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service.)

Trails have played a vital part in America's heritage. From early Colonial days, Americans have sought trailways as a means of "getting there" or for pleasure and relaxation. A 1972 survey for the former U.S. Bureau of Outdoor Recreation showed that walking for pleasure was the most popular outdoor recreation activity in terms of activity days of participation. Congress, recognizing the need to promote trail development and use and to provide a measure of protection to existing trails, passed the National Trails System Act by an overwhelming margin.

National Recreation Trail designation carries with it the prestige of the National Trails System, but no direct financial assistance. Resultant favorable publicity can bring attention to the community, help further outdoor recreation opportunities in the area, and protect the trail itself from incompatible land use.

What types of trails qualify? National Recreation Trails include foot, bicycle, horse, wheelchair, ski, snowshoe, snowmobile, motorcycle, or a combination of these uses. The Belle Isle Trail in Detroit is an 8-foot-wide paved bicycle trail; in Maryland, Patapsco State Park's Touch of Nature Trail is a braille trail; the 1/2-mile-long Trail of Spirits in South Dakota is a hiking trail rich in Indian lore; Phoenix's Squaw Peak Trail is for hikers and horseback riders; the TVA's Long Creek Trail in Tennessee is for foot and wheelchair use; while the Lester Park Nature Trail in Duluth is for hikers, cross-country skiers, and snow-shoers.

The length of National Recreation Trails varies from the 102.5-mile length of the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin to several trails which are just 1/4 mile long. The typical trail in the system is about five miles in length.

National Recreation Trails must be within two hours driving time of an urban area or within existing federal or state parks, forests, or other recreation areas. They may bring the recreationist into contact with our historic legacy. Boston's Freedom Trail links 19 historic buildings and sites within the downtown area which played important roles in the American Revolution and colonial life.

The Big Hole Battlefield Trail in Montana follows a portion of the route of the Nez Perce Indians in their valiant attempt to retain their free way of life; the Union Canal Walking and Bicycle Trail near Reading, Pennsylvania, includes an early 19th Century canal, locks, blacksmith shop, and covered bridge. The Fort Henry Hiking Trails in Tennessee follow the route taken by General Grant's troops in their advance from Ft. Henry to Ft. Donelson in 1862.

Several trails utilize abandoned railroad rights-of-way, notably the Illinois Prairie Path and the

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Elory-Sparta Trail and Sugar River State Trail in Wisconsin. California's 67-mile-long Aqueduct Bikeway is located on the levee of an aqueduct while Colorado's Highline Canal Trails are on the tree-lined maintenance road of a canal winding through metropolitan Denver. Indiana's Calumet Trail is located on an electric powerline corridor adjacent to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Offering numerous panoramas of the Connecticut River Valley, the Northfield Mountain Trail in Massachusetts is located at a pumped storage station.

While National Recreation Trails must be open to the public, they can be privately owned. Before receiving national status, the administering agency or organization must provide proof that the trail will be available for public use for at least ten consecutive years after designation. The trail administrator must also submit documentation as to ownership and a trail management plan. A reasonable fee may be charged for use of the trail.

Ninety miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska, the Pinnell Mountain Trail is the northernmost maintained hiking trail in the United States. While the location of this National Recreation Trail is exceptional, the beauty of its natural features is the standard rather than the exception for such trails. Natural bridges, caves, wild flowers, natural pools, petrified trees, sandstone formations, cacti, mineral springs, junipers, ferns, canyons, timbered mountain settings —the variety of natural features along the Natural Recreation Trails is infinite.

Several National Recreation Trails are designed for use by the handicapped; others are much-used by students, 4-H Clubs, scouts, and other groups interested in nature study. South Carolina's Edisto Nature Trail, administered by the Westvaco Corporation, offers hiking opportunities for recreationists and serves as an "outdoor laboratory" for nature study. Honeysuckle Trail in Tennessee is a self-guided nature trail designed for use by the blind, as well as by sighted persons. The Huntington (W. Va.) Galleries' Gentle Trail includes interpretive signs in regular print and braile and a "fragrance garden" at trail's end.

Once trails abounded nearly everywhere but, as the Nation became more urbanized, many were preempted for other needs. Today, with more leisure time and greater mobility, Americans need additional space for outdoor recreation activities, especially near urban areas. National Recreation Trails bring us in touch with nature's wonders, with our national heritage, and with ourselves.

The booklet, "National Recreation Trails: Information and Application Procedure," is available from the Lake Central Regional Office, Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, Federal Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48107. A free listing of National Recreation Trails, as of January, 1978, is also available.

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