Meet the 2025 Hall of Fame Trail Nominees
Trails bring people joy while also creating opportunities to lead more active and healthier lifestyles, enjoy nature, energize the economies of the places they connect, and get around safely on foot and by bike.
While all of America’s trails deserve applause, some of the nation’s pathways go above and beyond to set the gold standard for trails everywhere. These are the exceptional trails that inspire bucket-list adventures and lifelong fans, as well as propel advancement and excellence in trail development.
Since 2007, RTC has been recognizing the nation’s most impactful rail-trails through our Hall of Fame, expanding in 2023 to include all types of multiuse trails. Dozens of trails have received this prestigious honor, chosen for merits such as as scenic value, high use, trail and trailside amenities, historical significance, accessibility, excellence in management and maintenance, and community benefit, plus connectivity locally and to regional trail and active transportation systems.
With so many great multiuse trails found across our country and such a legendary list of existing Hall of Famers, our team needs help choosing the newest addition. We narrowed it down to three nominees—each of them stellar choices, providing epic outings for people as well as outsized benefits to their communities.
Get to know the 2025 Hall of Fame trail nominees, then help us decide which trail should take the title by voting for your preferred pick between July 31 and Aug. 6!
East Central Regional Rail Trail, Florida
Spanning more than 50 miles from central Florida to its eastern coast, this nominee is one of the Sunshine State’s longest rail-trails. The East Central Regional Rail Trail forms a Y-shape as it connects several communities within Volusia and Brevard counties, providing a way for visitors and locals alike to get around without a car, options for recreation and exercise, and linkages to public transportation and cultural attractions. The popular pathway is ADA compliant and designed to welcome people of all ages and abilities, regularly hosting walkers, runners, bicyclists, inline skaters, and wildlife and nature viewers, as well as horseback riders along a parallelling equestrian path in Brevard County. Along the trail, users can expect to see lush trees and plant life, waterfronts and wetlands, and even a large tin man sculpture, as well as have easy access to the American Space Museum, other nearby space-related sites and city centers. The East Central Regional Rail Trail provides further opportunities to explore and travel the state, linking to the neighboring 25-mile Spring to Spring Trail in Volusia County and multiple developing trail networks, including the state’s 250-mile Coast to Coast Trail and 260-mile St. Johns River-to-Sea Loop, plus the 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway between Florida and Maine.
Vote For The Hall of Fame
Help us decide which trail should take the title by voting for your preferred pick between July 31 and Aug. 6!
Murdock Canal Trail, Utah
Nestled a short distance from Utah’s largest freshwater lake at the base of the Wasatch Mountains, the Murdock Canal Trail winds its way approximately 20 miles through the Utah Valley. Sitting atop a now-enclosed canal, the trail was opened to the public in 2013, thanks to the partnership of multiple agencies and the Provo River Water Users Association, the local water company. The trail provides maintenance access to the covered canal while serving as a space for walkers, runners, bikers, skaters and equestrians (via an adjacent dirt path) to enjoy the picturesque landscape. Counters installed on the trail estimate that more than 997,000 people per year use the route, which provides a connection to seven communities and the Golden Spoke trail network. As part of this 100-miles-plus network of paved pathways, people using the trail can continue their journeys all the way from Ogden to Salt Lake City and Provo. At its southern end, the trail links to the nearby Provo River Parkway, which ventures to the mouth of the river-carved Provo Canyon. At its northern tip, the trail ends at Thanksgiving Point, which features gardens, farmland and multiple learning areas (including a dinosaur museum) in the City of Lehi, where it seamlessly connects to the Jordan River Parkway Trail.
Vote For The Hall of Fame
Help us decide which trail should take the title by voting for your preferred pick between July 31 and Aug. 6!
Flint Hills Trail State Park, Kansas
Flint Hills Trail State Park spans 93 miles across rural eastern Kansas, connecting more than a dozen communities. Although this nominee is already the longest rail-trail in the state, it will ultimately stretch a vast 118 miles between Osawatomie and Herington, offering further opportunities to walk, run, bike and horseback ride. Along the trail’s many miles, nature abounds, including being home to one of the last remaining tallgrass prairie ecosystems in the world, the Flint Hills, treating users to a beautiful, rare landscape and to a range of wildlife. In addition, many sites that can be found along and within a short distance of the route reflect the history of the railroad and region, such as Allegawaho Heritage Memorial Park, a 158-acre park honoring the history of the Kaw (Kanza) Nation, and the John Brown Memorial Park and Museum State Historic Site, where visitors can learn about the famous abolitionist and the movement to make Kansas a free state. The route also partially traces the Santa Fe National Historic Trail, a key travel corridor in the 1800s that stretched between Missouri and New Mexico. The trail was officially designated as a state park by the Kansas Legislature in 2018 and recognized as a National Recreation Trail by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2020. It also directly links to the Prairie Spirit Trail State Park, an inductee in RTC’s Hall of Fame that extends another 53 miles.
Vote For The Hall of Fame
Help us decide which trail should take the title by voting for your preferred pick between July 31 and Aug. 6!
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Everyone deserves access to safe ways to walk, bike, and be active outdoors.
