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National Scenic Trails
On October 2, 1968, Congress passed the National Trails System Act to create a system
of recreation, scenic, and connecting or side trails. Among these, the Act established
the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail as the first two National Scenic
Trails in the United States.
There may not be any hiking trails anywhere in the world that match these first
two National Scenic Trails for their uninterrupted length, degree of construction,
or popularity with point-to-point "through hikers." The 2,460-mile Pacific
Crest Trail extends from Mexico to Canada, running the length of California's Sierra
Nevada and the volcanic peaks of Oregon and Washington's Cascades. 1,860 miles of
the trail exist on national forest lands, and the Pacific Crest Trail is one of just three National Scenic
Trails managed by the Forest Service.
The Appalachian Trail (AT) is the oldest and most popular of the National Scenic
Trails. More than one third of the AT runs through national forest lands, though
the 2,050-mile trail is managed by the National Park Service. In addition to $1.2
million for trail maintenance and construction, from 1971 to 1977 the Forest Service
spent $423,000 to acquire legal rights-of-way for the trail where it crossed parcels
of private land within national forest boundaries.
National Scenic Trails may be designated only through acts of Congress. Since the
original designations in 1968, Congress has approved six more trails for National
Scenic status. Two of these, the
Continental Divide Trail and the Florida Trail, are also managed by the U.S. Forest
Service. The remaining trails - the North Country Trail, Ice Age Trail, Potomac
Heritage Trail, and Natchez Trace - are administered by the National Park Service
or state agencies.
Sources:
National Forest Trails - Breaking New Ground, Presentation by
John R. McGuire, Chief, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
before the Appalachian Trail Conference, Shepardstown, West Virginia,
May 30, 1977.
National Forest Trails System, (April 1978), photocopy of U.S.
Forest Service document.
Status of the National Trails System, December 29, 1982, U.S.
Department of the Interior, National Park Service, photocopied document.
Summary: Status of the National Trails System, February 1, 1981.
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