Nestled into the gentle greens and golds of a vast prairie, rolling under leafy branches arched overhead like cathedral rooftops, and connecting small towns with friendly Midwestern charm, the Flint Hills Trail State Park proves there’s no place like Kansas.

An active and enthusiastic crowd of trail advocates gathered to kick off the state’s newly formed Legislative Trails Caucus.

The LandLine Vision Plan—a newly proposed plan by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) that aims to complete a 1,400-mile connected network of regional trails.

Like the fabled yellow brick road, Georgia’s Augusta Canal Trail unfolds with a soft orange hue and unexpected delights with every footstep or turn of the wheel.

Empire State Trail (EST): Shaped like a giant sideways T intersecting near Albany, the EST will connect three corners of the state: Manhattan, Buffalo and the Canadian border near Lake Champlain.

The P2P corridor heads east out of the Ohio River port city of Parkersburg, along the North Bend Rail Trail, through small, rural communities like Cairo, West Union and Salem. Seventy-eight percent of the 150-mile West Virginia section is already complete, with a few key gaps in Wood, Harrison and Marion counties.

The 22.9-mile Chief Standing Bear Trail helps memorialize the 1877 walk of the Ponca Tribe back to their homeland, led by Chief Standing Bear and known as the Ponca Trail of Tears.

Western Ohio’s Simon Kenton Trail offers the perfect opportunity for today’s travelers to do their own exploring of the state’s scenic woodlands and rural landscapes on a 35-mile adventure stretching from Springfield to Bellefontaine.

Nebraska’s Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail offers an authentic Old West experience, small towns and picturesque landscapes.

In terms of rail-trail mileage, Pennsylvania dominates, but in a crowded field, the Montour Trail—which forms a 55-mile arc around western Pittsburgh—is a standout with plenty of “wow” moments.