Capital Crescent Trail
DC,MD - 12.7 miles
Surfaces: Asphalt
For more than 100 years, the railroad was the backbone of American travel and was integral to the development of countless communities. Rail-trails not only preserve these corridors for transportation, but provide a window to the past with restored train depots, trestles, cabooses, and other railroad relics along their routes. Explore the fascinating stories behind some of the country's most iconic rail-trails by reading our railroad histories.
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| Trail Image | Trail Name | States | Length | Surface | Rating |
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The Air Line State Park Trail gets its name from the term once used to describe some railroads that conveyed the straightest practical means of connecting to points, or an “air line.” Nearly all such...
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CT | 60.3 mi | Ballast, Crushed Stone, Dirt, Gravel |
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The “Wild Mary,” as the road was affectionately known, stretched through three different states, including Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, it was the last major railroad to...
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WV | 26 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone, Gravel |
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The American Tobacco Trail is located on roughly half of the right-of-way of what was a branch once owned by the original Norfolk Southern Railway (NS). But the property predates even the NS, having...
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NC | 22.2 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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A section of the current Arkansas River Trail runs alongside the active railroad grade of the short line, Little Rock & Western (LR&W), situated along the south bank of the waterway somewhat west of...
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AR | 22.71 mi | Asphalt, Concrete |
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The Aroostook Valley Railroad (AVR) was a small short line located in the remote northern region of Maine, and the Aroostook Valley Trail is named for this former railroad, which uses virtually its...
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ME | 28.8 mi | Crushed Stone, Dirt |
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Today’s Astoria Riverwalk trail was created during the mid-1990s using primarily the former right-of-way of the Burlington Northern. The corridor runs along the waterfront of the Columbia River nearly...
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OR | 6.4 mi | Asphalt, Boardwalk |
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The Baltimore and Annapolis Trail is named after the railroad that previously operated the corridor. The right-of-way carries an interesting history that traces back to the 1880s as a standard,...
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MD | 13.3 mi | Asphalt |
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The Banks-Vernonia State Trail, named for the two towns it links, has an interesting history as a railroad corridor. During its earliest years, the property was part of an interurban network known as...
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OR | 23.2 mi | Asphalt |
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Today’s Betsie Valley Trail lies along the northern-most section of the legendary Ann Arbor Railroad (AA), roughly 22 miles long, and is one of Michigan’s most well-known lines. The company,...
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MI | 42.8 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone, Gravel |
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The Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail provides recreationists incredible scenic views of northern California. Along the corridor you will see former timberlands, cross numerous bridges and...
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CA | 25.3 mi | Dirt, Gravel |
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Except for a very short segment, the route used today by the Blackstone River Bikeway follows an active railroad line owned by the Providence & Worcester Railroad (P&W). The right-of-way dates back to...
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MA, RI | 29.9 mi | Asphalt, Boardwalk, Crushed Stone, Dirt |
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The Blackwater Canyon Trail follows one of the most picturesque former railroad grades ever constructed across the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. Located in north-central West Virginia, the trail...
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WV | 10.7 mi | Dirt, Gravel |
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What is today Chicago’s Bloomingdale Trail, or “The 606,” was formerly a segment of the storied Milwaukee Road. Long known as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific, this railroad once stretched...
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IL | 2.7 mi | Asphalt, Concrete |
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A segment of today’s Boise River Greenbelt follows a former railroad right-of-way that belonged to the Union Pacific. This large, Class I railroad is still in business and currently operates more than...
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ID | 46.1 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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Today’s Burke-Gilman Trail follows a former right-of-way of one of Seattle’s first railroads: the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway (SLS&E). Because transcontinental lines building from the east...
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WA | 18.8 mi | Asphalt |
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Trains were still plying the rails south of Richfield, Utah, along what is now the Candy Mountain Express Bike Trail until the early 1970s. The corridor was once the property of the Denver & Rio...
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UT | 15.8 mi | Asphalt |
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The Cannon Valley Trail runs nearly 20 miles along a segment of the former Chicago Great Western (CGW). The so-called “Corn Belt Route” was a classic “granger” railroad (that is, a Midwestern line...
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MN | 20.9 mi | Asphalt |
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The Cape Cod Rail Trail is located on Massachusetts’ beautiful Cape Cod, using a section of what was once the easternmost extension of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. The line was...
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MA | 27.5 mi | Asphalt |
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The Capital Crescent Trail is located primarily in western Washington, D.C., and uses the right-of-way of the entire former Georgetown Branch of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. While this line became...
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DC, MD | 12.7 mi | Asphalt |
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Located in the Northern Panhandle of Texas, the Caprock Canyons State Park Trailway is the region’s longest recreational corridor and uses more than 60 miles of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy’s...
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TX | 64.2 mi | Ballast |
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The Cardinal Greenway in Indiana used more than 60 miles of what was once the Chesapeake & Ohio’s (C&O) main line to Chicago. The corridor was constructed by a predecessor company at the turn of the...
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IN | 61 mi | Asphalt |
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One of the most scenic recreational corridors in the Northeast is the Catskill Mountain Trail, located within New York’s beautiful Catskill Mountains. This also held true when trains still plied the...
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NY | 26 mi | Cinder, Crushed Stone, Dirt, Gravel |
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During the height of the interurban industry, the state of Iowa was home to the most mileage west of the Mississippi River, behind only Texas and California. This is interesting because most...
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IA | 70.6 mi | Asphalt, Concrete, Crushed Stone, Dirt |
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Although most of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail does follow a former railroad grade, for about a mile it follows the active Alaska Railroad (ARR) line south out of Anchorage. The ARR is Alaska’s...
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AK | 14 mi | Dirt, Gravel |
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The Cheshire Rail Trail follows the former grade of the Cheshire Railroad, an early carrier established during the 1840s. It completed the corridor later that decade, reaching as far west as Bellows...
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NH | 32.9 mi | Asphalt, Ballast, Cinder, Dirt, Gravel, Sand |
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What is today known as the Chief Ladiga Trail is named after a famous passenger train by the same name operated by the Seaboard Air Line (SAL), once one of the South’s largest railroads. The “Silver...
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AL | 33 mi | Asphalt |
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The Chippewa River State Trail winds its way northward along the waterway for which it is named, running between Durand and Eau Claire along a former branch of the fabled Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul...
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WI | 38.5 mi | Asphalt, Boardwalk, Cinder, Concrete, Gravel |
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The history of the route that is now a part of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes is both fascinating and a bit confusing. Just after the Civil War, gold and silver were discovered in Idaho’s Northern...
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ID | 73.2 mi | Asphalt |
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Today’s Cowboy Trail spans much of the Chicago & North Western’s fabled “Cowboy Line” across central and western Nebraska. The entire route gave the C&NW access well into Wyoming, its farthest western...
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NE | 202.9 mi | Concrete, Crushed Stone |
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The Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail runs along a 6.5-mile segment of the old Tennessee Central Railway between Ashland City and Cheatham Lake, along the banks of the river for which it is named....
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TN | 6.5 mi | Asphalt, Gravel |
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Today’s popular D&L Trail covers 165 miles between Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and the Delaware River north of Pennsylvania. The section between Jim Thorpe and White Haven, which negotiates the...
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PA | 144.7 mi | Asphalt, Ballast, Crushed Stone, Dirt, Gravel |
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Morgantown, West Virginia, is home to three recreational trails that trace their histories back to former rail corridors, all once part of the historic Baltimore & Ohio. The Deckers Creek Trail...
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WV | 19.5 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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A section of the expansive Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park Trail uses the former rail grade of what was originally the Belvidere Delaware Railroad. What was dubbed the “Bel Del” dates back to its...
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NJ | 73.6 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone, Dirt |
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The aptly named Denver & Rio Grande Western Rail Trail spans the very western segment of the railroad for which it is named. Although the D&RGW was not a large system in terms of overall mileage, it...
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UT | 23.5 mi | Asphalt |
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The former railroad corridor that now makes up much of the Discovery Trail has not seen a train since the era of the Great Depression. However, it was nevertheless a fascinating operation that...
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WA | 8.3 mi | Asphalt |
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The East Bay Bike Path has grown into a popular recreational corridor in southern Rhode Island between Providence and Bristol. The route’s history traces back to the New York, New Haven & Hartford...
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RI | 14.3 mi | Asphalt, Boardwalk |
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When what is now the Elroy-Sparta State Trail was in service as a rail line, the route between Elroy and Sparta, Wisconsin, was part of the Chicago & North Western Railway’s (C&NW) main line...
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WI | 33.8 mi | Crushed Stone |
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The Farmington Canal Heritage Trail is one of the largest recreational corridors in Connecticut, running nearly the state’s entire length north of New Haven. It uses a former branch of the New York,...
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CT | 47.6 mi | Asphalt |
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The Flint Hills Nature Trail is located on the former right-of-way of the Missouri Pacific in central Kansas. The MP, or “MoPac” as it was affectionately known, was a large Midwestern railroad that...
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KS | 118 mi | Ballast, Crushed Stone |
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The Fox River Trail in Illinois used most of the former Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric Company’s (AE&FRE) right-of-way, running along the Fox River between Aurora and Elgin. For many years this...
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IL | 45.7 mi | Asphalt, Concrete, Crushed Stone |
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The Frisco Highline Trail is named after the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway’s former corridor between Kanas City and Springfield. This particular route was its secondary line between those two...
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MO | 37.6 mi | Asphalt, Gravel |
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The Galloping Goose Trail is named after an interesting contraption once used for passenger service by the Rio Grande Southern (RGS), the railroad which originally built and operated the right-of-way....
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CO | 20 mi | Dirt, Gravel |
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Many years ago, before the creation of the Genesee Valley Greenway running between Black Creek and Rochester’s Genesee Valley Park, the corridor hosted trains of the large and powerful Pennsylvania...
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NY | 68.8 mi | Cinder, Dirt, Grass, Gravel |
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The George S. Mickelson Trail provides visitors with breathtaking views of South Dakota’s beautiful Black Hills. The corridor is more than 100 miles long and travels over the entire Chicago,...
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SD | 112 mi | Crushed Stone |
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The Ghost Town Trail primarily follows the meandering Black Lick Creek between Ebensburg and Black Lick, while also turning north from Vintondale along the creek’s North Branch for a few miles. These...
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PA | 51 mi | Crushed Stone |
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The Glacial Drumlin State Trail features a section of the Chicago & North Western’s (C&NW) former main line between Milwaukee and Madison. This particular corridor was constructed during the C&NW’s...
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WI | 52 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone, Gravel |
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The Great Allegheny Passage through Pennsylvania is primarily made up of two former railroad corridors stretching from McKeesport (just south of Pittsburgh) to Cumberland, Maryland, and spans more...
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MD, PA | 153.22 mi | Asphalt, Concrete, Crushed Stone, Dirt, Gravel |
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The Great Northern Historical Trail is named after the railroad that once operated the right-of-way north of Somers, Montana. The Great Northern (GN) was one of the three major transcontinental...
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MT | 22 mi | Asphalt |
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One of the best remembered granger railroads of the Midwest was the Chicago Great Western Railway (CGW), whose tagline was the “Corn Belt Route.” A granger railroad was one that derived a significant...
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IA | 16.5 mi | Asphalt, Concrete |
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The Greenbrier River Trail is one of West Virginia’s premier recreation corridors, spanning nearly 80 miles along its namesake river in the eastern Appalachian Mountains. The pathway traces its...
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WV | 77 mi | Asphalt, Boardwalk, Crushed Stone |
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The Guild-Hardy Trail has one of the more interesting histories of all recreational corridors converted from a former railroad grade. The right-of-way dates back to the 1880s, when the route’s express...
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TN | 5 mi | Gravel |
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Today’s Heartland State Trail was originally a branch of the Great Northern Railway (GN), running between its main lines at Cass Lake and Sauk Centre. The corridor was constructed in stages during the...
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MN | 49 mi | Asphalt |
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Today’s breathtaking High Bridge Trail runs along 32 miles of the former Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W) in central Virginia. Its signature feature is the nearly half-mile-long bridge that spans the...
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VA | 31.4 mi | Crushed Stone |
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The history of the High Trestle Trail as a rail corridor dates to two different railroads: the popular trestle for which it is named was owned by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific (CMStP&P,...
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IA | 31.74 mi | Asphalt, Concrete |
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The town of Brownsville, Texas, located near the Mexican border along the banks of the Rio Grande River, was once served by two major railroads. The Historic Battlefield Trail uses a short stretch of...
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TX | 10.1 mi | Asphalt, Boardwalk |
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The Historic Railroad Tunnel Trail offers a 7-mile trek through the open desert southeast of Las Vegas. While such a landscape may sound bland and uninteresting, it actually offers magnificent...
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NV | 3.7 mi | Crushed Stone, Dirt |
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Today’s Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail State Park was once a branch line operated by Union Pacific, our country’s largest current railroad, with a current system stretching more than 32,000 miles....
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UT | 28 mi | Asphalt, Gravel |
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The Hockhocking Adena Bikeway offers relaxing and scenic views of southwestern Ohio, winding its way along the Hocking River and what remains of the Hocking Canal. Much of the trail uses a former...
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OH | 22 mi | Asphalt |
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Both the Homestead Trail and Jamaica Trail, running south of Lincoln, Nebraska, use nearly 50 miles of a former Union Pacific (UP) branch line. The history of this corridor traces back to the late...
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NE | 40 mi | Crushed Stone |
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The Hop River State Park Trail follows more than 18 miles of former New York, New Haven & Hartford (NYNH&H) right-of-way in central Connecticut between Hartford and Willimantic. Unfortunately, while...
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CT | 20 mi | Crushed Stone |
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The Illinois Prairie Path follows nearly the entire right-of-way of the former Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railroad (CA&E), once a prominent and important interurban serving the western suburbs of the...
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IL | 62 mi | Asphalt, Concrete, Crushed Stone |
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Long ago, the state of Vermont was once home to, and was served by, several different railroads. One of these was the Green Mountain State’s own Rutland, which once linked much of Vermont and its...
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VT | 13.4 mi | Asphalt, Gravel |
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Both the Homestead Trail and Jamaica Trail, running south of Lincoln, Nebraska, use nearly 50 miles of a former Union Pacific (UP) branch line. The history of this corridor traces back to the late...
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NE | 7.9 mi | Concrete, Crushed Stone |
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Today’s Jane Addams Trail spans nearly 15 miles, following the former Illinois Central’s (IC) branch to the state capital of Wisconsin at Madison. Coincidentally, this line and one other would...
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IL | 18.9 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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The Junction & Breakwater Rail Trail is named after the railroad that originally constructed the right-of-way between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach during the 19th century: the Junction & Breakwater...
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DE | 8.3 mi | Asphalt, Concrete, Crushed Stone |
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Today’s Kal-Haven Trail offers stunning scenery through southwest Michigan, while the right-of-way provides a relatively flat and easy surface for hiking, jogging, or cycling. For many years, however,...
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MI | 33.95 mi | Crushed Stone |
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If it seems like the Katy Trail State Park goes on and on, seemingly forever, you would not be far off in that assessment! The park is the largest unbroken rail trail corridor in the country,...
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MO | 238.7 mi | Crushed Stone, Gravel |
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It may seem hard to believe, but the Hawaiian Islands were not only once home to one, but many railroads. Except for the Hawaii Consolidated Railway located on the Big Island, all of the chains’...
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HI | 7.3 mi | Asphalt, Concrete |
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The state of Maine has a rich heritage with railroads thanks to its thick forests and fertile soils, which created the need to move timber and agricultural products. What is today the Kennebec Valley...
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ME | 14.5 mi | Crushed Stone, Dirt, Sand |
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The short Keuka Outlet Trail, located in western New York State, was once a short branch of the New York Central System (NYC). The railroad dated to the late 1870s and at that time was known by...
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NY | 6.7 mi | Asphalt, Ballast, Dirt, Gravel |
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The Leelanau Trail is located near the banks of Lake Michigan along the upper reaches of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. During the corridor’s history, it served as the northernmost branch of the Manistee...
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MI | 16.6 mi | Asphalt |
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The Lehigh Valley’s (LV) extension into Buffalo began in 1889, when founder Asa Packer became frustrated with the trackage rights agreement into Buffalo over the Erie Railroad. At...
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NY | 16.4 mi | Crushed Stone |
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While you may not realize it, the popular Little Miami Scenic Trail maintains the same name as the railroad that originally built the corridor. The Little Miami Railroad (LMRR) was once one of Ohio’s...
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OH | 77.7 mi | Asphalt, Concrete |
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Today’s Longleaf Trace spans a former Illinois Central line that was originally part of a rather large logging operation known as the Mississippi Central Railroad (MCRR). The history of this company...
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MS | 45.5 mi | Asphalt |
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The Norwottuck Rail-Trail comprises two different sections of rights-of-way originally owned by two railroads. The segment east of Northampton (known as the Mass Central Section) is roughly 10 miles,...
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MA | 59 mi | Asphalt, Cinder, Crushed Stone, Dirt, Gravel |
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The McQueens Island Historic Trail offers beautiful seaside and marsh views of coastal Georgia. Located east of Savannah, this recreational corridor hugs the banks of the Savannah River much of the...
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GA | 5.6 mi | Gravel |
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The immediate history of the Medicine Bow Rail Trail dates back to a former Union Pacific (UP) branch that diverged from its Overland Route main line at Laramie, Wyoming, and proceeded southwesterly...
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WY | 21 mi | Gravel |
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The Mesabi Trail has grown into one of the country’s largest, single rail trails, covering more than 100 miles in northern Minnesota. The corridor winds its way between Grand Rapids and Aurora while...
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MN | 135 mi | Asphalt, Gravel |
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The Military Ridge State Trail encompasses 45 miles of the former Chicago & North Western (C&NW) right-of-way between Madison and Dodgeville. This particular line was fairly typical of the numerous...
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WI | 39.1 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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Today’s Mineral Belt Trail provides a glimpse of Leadville’s once prominent stature as a major mining community; its route is made up of former railroad rights-of-way belonging to the three major...
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CO | 11.6 mi | Asphalt |
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The Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail spans the entire length of a branch line formerly owned by the Central Vermont Railway (CV). The CV was a rather small but classic New England railroad that ran from...
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VT | 26.3 mi | Crushed Stone |
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Both the north and South sections of today’s Mon River Trail, located near Morgantown, West Virginia, follow a former right-of-way once operated by the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O), formerly an important...
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WV | 23.7 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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The Monon Trail follows more than 18 miles of the former Monon Railroad north of Indianapolis. Its complete name was the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway, and it became fondly remembered in...
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IN | 27.1 mi | Asphalt |
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The region around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is now home to a long laundry list of trail projects that use the rights-of-way of many rail lines that once served the Steel City years ago. One of these...
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PA | 55.9 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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The Mountain-Bay State Trail follows a former segment of a secondary Chicago & North Western (C&NW) line that ran west of Green Bay. As was the case with much of the C&NW’s later system, this...
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WI | 83.4 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone, Dirt, Grass, Gravel |
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The Boston & Maine (B&M) was one of the New England’s largest and most expansive systems, with a network stretching across much of the region. Generally speaking, its routes radiated from Boston, and...
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MA, NH | 12.4 mi | Asphalt |
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Today’s popular New River Trail State Park is located within the beautiful valleys and mountains of southwestern Virginia and follows the banks of the New River much of the way. The corridor was...
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VA | 57.5 mi | Crushed Stone |
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The Nickel Plate Trail is named after the railroad that previously owned the corridor known as the Nickel Plate Road. Its official name was the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, and it grew into...
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IN | 37.8 mi | Asphalt |
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One of West Virginia’s premier recreational corridors, the North Bend Rail Trail is located in the state’s north-central region and spans some 72 miles from just outside Clarksburg (at Wolf Summit) to...
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WV | 72 mi | Asphalt, Boardwalk, Concrete, Crushed Stone, Gravel |
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Michigan is home to one of the highest concentrations of rail trails found anywhere in the country. The North Central State Trail is one of them, and as its name implies, the corridor is located in...
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MI | 74.9 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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Today’s North County Trailway uses a fabled corridor that was once part of the massive New York Central System (NYC). The right-of-way’s roots trace back to the New York & Putnam Railroad, which...
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NY | 20.7 mi | Asphalt |
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The history of today’s Northern Rail Trail can be traced well back to the 19th century when the corridor was constructed by the Northern Railroad. This system was one of New Hampshire’s earliest...
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NH | 57.8 mi | Cinder, Crushed Stone |
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Railroads have not operated on Washington’s beautiful Olympic Peninsula since the mid-1980s, but today part of a former right-of-way is now a section of the Olympic Discovery Trail. Much of the...
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WA | 90 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone, Dirt |
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The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, formerly known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trail, is one of several rail trails created after the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (a.k.a., the...
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WA | 236.46 mi | Ballast, Concrete, Crushed Stone, Sand |
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The Panhandle Trail uses a short segment of what was once a primary component of the mighty Pennsylvania Railroad’s (PRR) main line to St. Louis and secondary route to Chicago. The history of this...
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PA, WV | 29 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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Appropriately named, the Paul Bunyan State Trail was originally built as a logging railroad during the late 1800s and later was a branch of the Northern Pacific Railway, which acquired the property in...
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MN | 121.7 mi | Asphalt |
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The Paulinskill Valley Trail travels a former segment of the New York, Susquehanna & Western’s (NYS&W) main line to Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, which was abandoned long ago. The railroad went by a...
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NJ | 27.1 mi | Ballast, Cinder, Crushed Stone, Dirt, Grass |
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The Pere Marquette Rail-Trail offers the chance to hike a section of what was once Michigan’s largest independent railroad—the Pere Marquette Railway (PM). The trail runs between Midland (west of Bay...
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MI | 30.1 mi | Asphalt |
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Railroads through Pennsylvania’s Pine Creek Gorge in the counties of Lycoming and Tioga had a history that could be traced as far back as the earliest days of the industry itself. However, the first...
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PA | 62.5 mi | Crushed Stone |
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Today’s Prairie Spirit Trail follows part of a former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF, a.k.a., the Santa Fe) branch line between Ottawa and Iola, Kansas. The history of this route dates...
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KS | 51.3 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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The curiously named Swamp Rabbit Trail follows the former right-of-way of what was once the Greenville & Northern Railway, a short line running north from Greenville, South Carolina. The history of...
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SC | 28 mi | Asphalt, Boardwalk |
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The Raccoon River Valley Trail has a rich history with railroads since it used two different former corridors running northwest of Des Moines, Iowa. The first section, opened to the public in the late...
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IA | 88.2 mi | Asphalt, Concrete |
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The Redbank Valley Rail Trail is located on former railroad right-of-way and follows Redbank Creek much of the way, extending to Sligo via Lawsonham. All of this property was long-owned by the mighty...
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PA | 50.8 mi | Ballast, Crushed Stone |
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The history of the Richard Martin Trail as a corridor for trains, located north of Athens, Alabama, can be traced back to the pre-Civil War days when a small railroad opened the route for service....
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AL | 10.2 mi | Gravel |
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The River’s Edge Trail extends northeasterly out of Great Falls running along the Missouri River the entire way. This recreational corridor is composed of former sections of the Milwaukee Road and...
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MT | 55 mi | Asphalt, Gravel |
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Many years ago, long before today’s Root River State Trail was created, the right-of-way between Fountain and Houston, Minnesota, was once part of the massive Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific...
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MN | 42 mi | Asphalt |
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The Route of the Hiawatha provides recreationists the unique ability to experience the Bitterroot Mountains through northern Idaho and western Montana from the relaxation of a gentle rail bed that...
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ID | 15 mi | Gravel |
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The Sacramento River Trail provides a chance to enjoy the incredible scenery afforded along Northern California’s Sacramento River near Redding. The corridor’s history can be traced back to a...
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CA | 11.1 mi | Asphalt |
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The Sacramento River Trail provides a chance to enjoy the incredible scenery afforded along Northern California’s Sacramento River near Redding. The corridor’s history can be traced back to a...
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CA | 12.3 mi | Asphalt |
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The Saint John Valley Heritage Trail is a newer recreational corridor established in 2000 along a section of the old Bangor & Aroostook Railroad in the northern reaches of Maine. For more than a...
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ME | 16.9 mi | Crushed Stone |
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The Sam Vadalabene Great River Road Trail uses a 20-mile section of the former Illinois Terminal (IT), which hugs the shores of the Mississippi River between Alton and Grafton, Illinois. The IT grew...
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IL | 20.6 mi | Asphalt |
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The Santa Fe Rail-Trail follows the still-active rail line between Lamy and Santa Fe. It was originally constructed by the legendary Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (AT&SF) in the late 19th century....
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NM | 16.8 mi | Asphalt, Dirt |
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The Schuylkill River Trail is a series of recreational corridors running between Philadelphia and Pottstown, following its namesake waterway much of the way. The trail occupies a former railroad...
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PA | 82.4 mi | Asphalt, Boardwalk, Concrete, Crushed Stone, Dirt, Gravel |
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What is today known as the Silver Comet Trail, running from Smyrna, Georgia (just outside of Atlanta), to Esom Hill along the Alabama border, is named after a famous passenger train by the same name...
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GA | 61.65 mi | Asphalt, Concrete |
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Today’s Snoqualmie Valley Trail uses more than half of what was once the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific’s Everett Branch (CMStP&P), once an important source of timber and related freight on...
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WA | 31.3 mi | Gravel |
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The Sussex Branch Trail is named after the rail line by the same name that once ran between Branchville and Waterloo. This particular corridor began as a small, privately owned mining operation during...
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NJ | 18 mi | Cinder, Dirt, Grass |
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While perhaps somewhat surprising given the state’s location in the Southeast, and situated along the Atlantic Coast, South Carolina was once home to a wide range of logging railroads. Today’s Swamp...
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SC | 42 mi | Dirt, Grass |
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The current Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail was not only the first such recreational trail opened by the state during the 1980s, but it is also one of the oldest railroad corridors...
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FL | 21 mi | Asphalt |
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The Tammany Trace trail is located along the northern banks of Lake Pontchartrain, running west of Slidell, passing through Mandeville where it turns north to Abita Springs and then heads west again...
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LA | 28.2 mi | Asphalt |
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While the Tanglefoot Trail was only recently opened as a recreational corridor, the right-of-way dates back to the early 20th century when a small Mississippi railroad intended to connect the Gulf of...
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MS | 43.6 mi | Asphalt |
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The High Line recreational corridor has a fascinating history of the days when it once ran freight trains. The route was built by the New York Central System in conjunction with New York City to...
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NY | 1.6 mi | Concrete |
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The Thermal Belt Rail-Trail follows about 8 miles of a former Southern Railway line located in southwestern North Carolina. The history of the corridor dates back to a predecessor who constructed the...
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NC | 13.6 mi | Asphalt |
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Once completed, the Tobacco Heritage Trail will offer a through-corridor across much of central Virginia following abandoned rail grades formerly owned by three of the state’s best remembered...
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VA | 22.7 mi | Asphalt, Crushed Stone |
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Although most of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail does follow a former railroad grade, for about a mile it follows the active Alaska Railroad (ARR) line south out of Anchorage. The ARR is Alaska’s...
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AK | 11 mi | Asphalt |
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The Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail follows about 20 miles of a once-important Pennsylvania Railroad route between Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland. The line’s history can be traced back...
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MD | 19.7 mi | Crushed Stone, Dirt |
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The Tunnel Hill State Trail is named for the railroad tunnel in the small Illinois town where it is located. The corridor was originally built during the early 1870s by a predecessor system that...
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IL | 55.2 mi | Boardwalk, Concrete, Crushed Stone |
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The Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail is named after a bucolic short line established during the early 20th century to haul timber out of the region. It followed the Piney and Tye rivers and was...
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VA | 6.9 mi | Crushed Stone, Dirt, Gravel |
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One of the more scenic rail trails in the Eastern United States is surely the Virginia Creeper Trail in southwestern Virginia. Within the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the corridor was first...
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VA | 34 mi | Gravel |
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The Wabash Trace Nature Trail follows a former section of the fabled Wabash Railway’s main line to Council Bluffs, Iowa. The route was originally constructed by a predecessor system during the 1870s,...
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IA | 63 mi | Asphalt, Concrete, Crushed Stone |
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The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail follows about two-thirds of a former railroad corridor originally built and operated as the Wallkill Valley Railroad (WV), first established directly after the Civil...
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NY | 21.3 mi | Asphalt, Cinder, Dirt, Gravel |
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The West Fork Trail is a rural recreational corridor located in the eastern Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. Its name comes from the body of water it follows, the West Fork of the Greenbrier...
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WV | 22 mi | Ballast, Crushed Stone, Gravel |
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The Western Maryland Rail Trail covers about 20 miles of the Western Maryland Railway’s (WM) former main line through its home state west of Hagerstown. The WM was once an important carrier to the...
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MD | 27.5 mi | Asphalt |
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The Western Reserve Greenway follows much of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s (PRR) former branch line, extending to the shores of Lake Erie at Ashtabula, Ohio. The route’s earliest history dates back to...
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OH | 43 mi | Asphalt |
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The Wilderness Road Trail travels a segment of a former coal branch built and operated by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, one of the South’s best recognized systems. The L&N, also known by its...
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VA | 8.5 mi | Crushed Stone |
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The Willapa Hills Trail uses the former corridor of the Northern Pacific Railway’s South Bend Branch, or Willapa Harbor Line, from Chehalis to South Bend along the banks of Willapa Bay. The branch was...
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WA | 56 mi | Asphalt, Ballast, Crushed Stone, Grass, Gravel |
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Today’s Willard Munger State Trail runs along a section of what was once the Northern Pacific Railway’s (NP) main line linking the Twin Cities with Duluth and following the St. Louis River much of the...
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MN | 71.4 mi | Asphalt |
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Today’s Withlacoochee State Trail runs along more than 40 miles of what once was an important corridor belonging to the Atlantic Coast Line. The ACL, or Coast Line as it was also known, operated a...
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FL | 45.9 mi | Asphalt, Boardwalk, Concrete |
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Idaho’s Wood River Trails follows the northern periphery of what was once a railroad grade owned by the Union Pacific. The line skirted the banks of the Big Wood River much of the way. It was...
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ID | 36.1 mi | Asphalt |
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I love the waterfront it’s such a beautiful area and the scenery along waterfront is awesome
Truly a magical and wonderful place.
The wide crushed stone trail is nestled on a shelf between the Lehigh River and the vertical gorge wall of red/purple/brown shale and sandstone. The rushing river alternates between white water and calmer sections. North of Rockport, there are a number of remnants of the locks that were built with the local rock during the industrial revolution. The vertical gorge wall is exposed rock in many parts and covered with mountain laurel in others. The wider sections of the valley are forested with hemlock and hardwoods. Throughout the entire trail waterfalls and rushing streams cascade down the gorge wall and into the river. Even during the this rainy spring, the trail was puddle and mud free and in great condition from Glen Onoko to White Haven.
I had to add my 2 cents, don’t be discouraged by a previous review talking about steep hills and bumpy pavement in the 5 miles near Gainesville. I rode it in the pre dawn hours and took it really slow so as not to out run my light. Yes there are bumps - I had no issues and my tires are 23s. As far as hills, this path is what we call in the Midwest flat. Maybe some steep hills for Florida, but again not a real issue. Enjoy it - I look forward to riding it again someday!
Great trail for cycling or walking. It’s off Kam hi way and has a nice open country feel. From Kuhuku I continued on down the road shoulder to Turtle Bay.
Very calming trail with little to no traffic at 7pm.
Many people rave about the Bank Vernonia trail in north west Oregon. This trail put any of the Oregon Trails to shame. It is smooth and well maintained. It has a vanity of terrain and sufficient undulations to keep any rider entertained. The river vistas are pleasant and other than.one short stretch past a sewage treatment plant, I found this trail rank amongst the top five I have ever rode. Including trails in the eastern, Intermountain and far western US. There are a number of short 6 degree slopes the novice rides may be intimidated by. slopes.
Did the entire trail with e-bike. Great ride in lowest pedal assist mode! Few areas washed out by recent rains but able to navigate.
We parked on the western end in the Metro train parking lot at 1st and College in Claremont. Lots of free parking. Rode a few blocks down First and picked up the trail. This trail is in beautiful shape. No trash, no graffiti, no homeless camps. Part of it has a beautiful separate parallel dirt trail for horses and runners. Not too much shade so would be hot in summer. There’s a nice park about 10 miles in on the trail. The downside is the number of street crossings. Only a few of the streets were busy. But the fun part is that in addition to street crossing buttons for bikes they have high up buttons for those on horses.
Rode 5 miles South of Inverness then 5 miles North.South was better but both very nice.
The trail is well maintained. The Eel River is lovely with trees, greenery, and flowers lining the bank. On the other side are several industrial businesses. It is nice to have open spaces to stretch the legs.
today was my first time on this trail and it is very pretty. I loved the 2 mile stretch my 2 dogs and I walked. I did not enjoy coming home and removing 30 tics from my dogs! if you take your dogs be very careful, try to stay on the gravel parts and avoid the grassy areas!!
The carriage roads of Acadia National Park are among the most beautiful and rewarding places I've ridden. They are unique and unlike a typical rail-trail, but if they were, they would undoubtedly be in the Hall of Fame. The riding on the carriage roads is comparable to the Virginia Creeper Trail, with some climbing and numerous great views, but the carriage roads are generally wider and more engineered. They offer a fantastic range of scenery, including dense forests, lakes, stream crossings over historic stone bridges and spectacular views of the coastal mountains, bays, ocean and inland Maine. With forty-five miles open to bicycles, one can plan a variety of rides from relatively flat and easy circuits around the lakes and ponds to more extended climbing in the mountains. The grade is typically gentle and the National Park Service does a wonderful job of keeping the carriage roads groomed and free of obstacles. Being the only national park in the region, Acadia can be very crowded during the summer and the carriage roads are often congested. Cyclists need to be very careful around horses in particular. The more challenging and remote sections of the carriage roads are typically less crowded, so those are better choices during the summer. Late October to early November is the best time for cycling as the crowds, heat and humidity give way to crisp cool days without insect pests. The carriage roads can easily be ridden with almost any kind of bike except road bikes, but most riders would probably do best with a dedicated gravel bike, fat bike, hybrid or hardtail mountain bike. E-bikes are a common sight and can be rented in Bar Harbor. Suspension is mostly unnecessary but good tires are a must. Surface conditions can range from hardpack to fairly deep gravel, so wider tires with some teeth are helpful. Good brakes are also highly recommended. The carriage roads provide a fantastic cycling experience but they do require hundreds of hours of upkeep so please be sure to purchase a park pass. As a capstone to a stupendous carriage road adventure, Bar Harbor has plenty of restaurants where one can enjoy a traditional Maine post-ride pigout of chowdah, lobstah and beeah. Enjoy!
Did the entire trail (both fragments) at 52 miles on rollerskates. Great surface and one of the best long trails in Florida for skates. Beautiful scenery. Saw bald eagles, an owl, a couple of deer, and lots of gopher tortoises. I will say that the northern fragment has like no place to park. I parked at the National Refuge but that isn’t an official trailhead. Additionally, the northern leg has some areas that are just sidewalk vs actual path. Still enjoyable !
The trail itself is excellent. A great place for a leisurely walk, bike or skate between Newburyport and Amesbury with options to continue/connect to the rail trail for a longer trek. But while the trail is awesome, I don’t understand why people feel entitled to let their dogs roam off leash along the trail? This makes it not only uncomfortable for those walking, but dangerous for those biking or skating that don’t want to be chased by a dog, friendly or not, that can be the cause of an accident. It’s really not the dogs fault… it’s the owners ignorance and disrespect for anyone that shouldn’t have to alter what they are doing in order to be deal with your dog. If you want to walk your dog off leash, there are numerous other places nearby that can accommodate you.
We rode e-bikes from 12th and Cumberland down to colebrook trailhead and back on a Tuesday . Very nice ride. Easy going. Pleasant folks. Seemed about 1/4 e-bikes of the bikes we saw.
