| The Great American Rail-Trail | |
|---|---|
 The Great American Rail-Trail | |
| Length | 3,700 miles (6,000 km) |
| Location | United States |
| Trailheads | East: Washington D.C., West: Washington state. |
| Use | Hiking, Biking |
| Website | Rails to Trails official website |
The Great American Rail-Trail is a planned cross-country rail trail in the United States. The trail will run 3,700 miles (6,000 km) between Washington D.C. in the east and the state of Washington in the west. The planned trail is already more than 53% complete, with over 2,000 completed miles on the ground. The trail runs through 12 states and the District of Columbia, and will be within 50 miles (80 km) of 50 million Americans. The work is being facilitated by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. The Great American Rail-Trail is composed of over 150 existing multi-use trails with about 90 gaps to be filled. The project was launched in May 2019.
Route
The trail overlaps several long distance rail trails for part or all of their route. From west to east, they include:
- Olympic Discovery Trail, Washington
- Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, Washington
- Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes, Idaho
- Olympian Trail, Montana
- Headwaters Trail System, Montana
- Casper Rail Trail, Wyoming
- Cowboy Trail, Nebraska
- Cedar Valley Trail, Iowa
- Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park, Illinois
- Illinois and Michigan Canal Trail, Illinois
- Nickel Plate Trail, Indiana
- Cardinal Greenway, Indiana
- Little Miami Scenic Trail, Ohio
- Ohio to Erie Trail, Ohio
- Panhandle Trail, West Virginia
- Great Allegheny Passage, Pennsylvania and Maryland
- C&O Towpath Trail, Maryland
- Capital Crescent Trail, Maryland and D.C.
See also
- Rail trail
- Trail
- Long-distance trail
- EuroVelo
- List of long-distance trails
- Long-distance trails in the United States
- List of rail trails
- State wildlife trails (United States)
- List of longest cross-country trails
- East Coast Greenway
- Empire State Trail
- Katy Trail State Park
References
Notes
- States the trail will cross include Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, ending in Washington D.C.
Citations
- "A new way to travel across the US". BBC Travel. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- Map of the Great American Rail-Trail
- The Great American Rail-Trail, Rails to Trails Conservancy
- "US is now building a giant bike trail that will go coast-to-coast". The Hill. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- Rosenberg, Lizzy (5 January 2021). "Cross-Country Bike Trips Will Soon Be a Reality With the Great American Rail Trail". Green Matters. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
General references
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- "The U.S. Is Building a Bike Trail That Runs Coast-to-Coast Across 12 States". EcoWatch. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- "More Pennsylvania mileage expected for Great American Rail-Trail". PennLive. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- "New 6,000km trail in the US will allow users to cycle across 12 states from coast to coast". Mothership: News from Singapore. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- "Momentum Grows For The Great American Rail-Trail". Forbes. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- "Great American Rail Trail snakes through northwest to eastern Indiana". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- "Covering 12 states and 3,700 miles, the Great American Rail-Trail will be the first ever cross-country hiking and biking trail". Roadtrippers. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- "Great American Rail-Trail will let you bike across the country". Curbed. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- "Great American Rail-Trail to Connect Coasts With 4,000 Miles of Trails". Bicycling.com. 24 February 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- Withrow, Brandon (22 June 2019). "The Great American Rail Trail: The Best Cross-Country Road Trip Is on a Bike". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- "Great American Rail-Trail leg planned for Iowa". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- "Want to Bike Cross-Country? Some Old Rails Could Get You There | WIRED". Wired. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
External links
- Great American Rail-Trail, official site.