One of the largest completed sections of that developing network is a pair of connected rail-trails—the Heritage Rail Trail County Park and the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail—a 44-mile expanse.

Nestled in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Highlands, the New River Trail State Park offers 57 miles of green.

Sun, sea, and sandy beaches: Florida’s Sanibel Island is a summer sanctuary. Better yet, the island’s extensive shared-use path system—totaling 24 paved miles—provides access to it all.

One of the cornerstones of Lincoln’s network, the MoPac Trail (consisting of the seamlessly connected West and East segments) begins at the University of Nebraska campus in the heart of the city and stretches eastward 27 miles, just shy of Omaha’s doorstep.

Already in place is the 13.4-mile Lower Las Vegas Wash Trail, which comprises the trail network’s eastern arc and is always a sure bet with beautiful parks, desert landscapes and vistas of the rugged mountains that ring the valley.

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.

Both the Caperton and the pair of Mon River Trails on either side of Morgantown follow a branch of the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad, which primarily carried coal, coke, sand and limestone between the mines of Fairmont and the industrial city of Pittsburgh.

The story of Milwaukee’s Kinnickinnic River Trail is the story of its eponymous river; paralleling each other through the city’s south side, the fate of the two is intimately intertwined.

In anticipation of RTC’s West Virginia Sojourn in June 2016—the “Wild and Wonderful North Bend Trail”—we’re pleased to feature this great pathway as our December Trail of the Month.

For trail lovers around the country, these two Idaho rail-trails hardly need an introduction: the 73-mile Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes and the 15-mile Route of the Hiawatha.