America's Best-Kept Secret: The National Recreation Trails

Parks & Recreation, March, 1999 by Deborah J. Chavez, Joanne F. Tynon, James A. Harding

Another critical issue was the number of National Recreation Trails facing closure. Two different managers commented:

"The trails at this park are no longer available to the general public."

"Plans are to remove these trails in the near future."

In all, we found that six National Recreation Trails were closed. Another 15 were "no longer managed as National Recreation Trails," despite the fact that there are no management guidelines to follow once a trail is designated a National Recreation Trail.

Managers should use all possible means to keep trails open and available to the public, including using the National Recreation Trail designation to assist in building partnerships. Taking advantage of the designation could result in favorable publicity, benefits for the community, or additional protection for the trail.

The results of the survey revealed that managers consider safety their most important issue. The most frequent problem faced was resource damage. There were relatively few incidents of social conflict on the National Recreation Trails, which may result from the fact that many trails are in rural or suburban areas and are single-use. However, even multiple-use trails reported minor social conflict.

How Do I Find Them?

There are limited sources to direct you to a National Recreation Trail. The most information can be found in the Register of National Recreation Trails, which was published in 1993 by the National Park Service. This guide lists National Recreation Trails alphabetically by state. Information provided includes the name of the trail; the year it was designated a National Recreation Trail; and its open season, uses, surfaces, governing agency, and address. While it is the best current source of information, much of the data has not been updated for 25 years.

Other sources of information include the National Trails System Map and Guide, jointly produced by the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the USDA Forest Service, and a similar list provided in Outdoor Recreation: United States National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands by Charles I. Zinser (1995). Because it is based on the register, the latter comes with similar caveats.

Can I Have a Trail Designated?

Perhaps there's a trail that you believe should be considered for National Recreation Trail status. The good news is the National Park Service publishes a booklet rifled Information and Application Procedures for Designation. The bad news? Right now there is a moratorium on formal designation. In recent years, the interest in the National Recreation Trails program has diminished.

Additionally, the institutional value of this designation is slim. The National Park Service has decided to discontinue processing National Recreation Trail applications, and formed a committee to develop recommendations for revitalizing the program. The committee has developed and circulated a paper to other federal agencies and national trail partners including American Trails, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, American Hiking Society, and the National Association of State Trail Administrators. A stakeholder group, the National Recreation Trails Revitalization Roundtable, which has already met numerous times, has been established.