Imagine what’s possible with a trail that connects the country
Picture yourself … pedaling across the entire country on a safe, seamless and scenic pathway—or walking a local trail that connects along historic routes. Imagine the incomparable experience of exploring America’s heritage by trail—its potential, its beauty and bounty, its people and places. Consider the economic opportunities and the benefits for communities along the route of a multiuse trail that stretches more than 3,700 miles from Washington to Washington. Learn more about the vision of the Great American Rail-Trail.
Watch the Great American Rail-Trail Preferred Route Reveal
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy celebrates the reveal of the Great American Rail-Trail’s preferred route with our on-the-ground partners at trailside events from Washington, D.C., to Washington State!
Live from Chadron, Nebraska, along the Cowboy Trail
Live from Washington, D.C., on the Capital Crescent Trail
Live from Muncie, Indiana, along the Cardinal Greenway
Live from Three Forks, Montana, just off the Headwaters Trail System
Live from Casper, Wyoming along the Casper Rail Trail
Live from Wallace, Idaho, along the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes
Live from the Cedar Valley Nature Trail in Iowa with the Black Hawk County Conservation Board
Live from Williamsport, Maryland, along the historic C&O Towpath Trail with the C&O Canal Trust
Live from McDonald, Pennsylvania, along the Panhandle Trail
Live from Gordon, Nebraska, along the Cowboy Trail
Live from South Cle Elum, Washington, along the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail
"The Great American Rail-Trail will be a national treasure. It presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create—together—an enduring gift to the nation that will bring joy for generations to come."
—Ryan Chao, RTC President
Discovering America: Reconnecting People and Places
The Great American Rail-Trail promises an all-new American experience. Through 12 states and the District of Columbia, the trail will directly serve nearly 50 million people within 50 miles of the route. Across the nation—and the world—only the limits of imagination will limit its use. Learn more about the preferred route.
Washington, D.C.
Pennsylvania and West Virginia
Illinois
Be a Part of the Movement to Complete the Great American Rail-Trail
Like you, we can’t wait to see the Great American Rail-Trail vision come to life—but we can’t do it alone.
Support at the state and local levels is critical to the trail’s success. Help us reach 1 million pledges for the Great American, showing the strength and solidarity of the trails community.
This is America’s trail. Together, let’s make it a reality.
Support the Great American Rail-Trail
The Great American Rail-Trail will stand alongside our country’s iconic landmarks as a national treasure. For more than 30 years, RTC has envisioned this trail. The time is NOW to complete it. You can help by making a gift to RTC, supporting the national leadership and on-the-ground support—the work to organize people, plans and ideas; trail planning and community engagement; the advocacy and marketing that is necessary to completing the Great American Rail-Trail.
The Great American Rail-Trail is a signature project of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, the nation’s largest trails organization—with a grassroots community more than 1 million strong—dedicated to connecting people and communities through a nationwide network of public trails, many from former rail lines. The “Great American” is the most ambitious project in its TrailNation™ portfolio—the organization’s initiative to encourage the rapid replication of regional trail networks across the country. Follow @greatamericanrailtrail on Facebook and Instagram.
