15 articles
American Discovery Trail
American Discovery Trail (ADT), coast-to-coast non-motorized multi-use trail from Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware, to Point Reyes, California, across 15 states and DC; about 6,800 miles with northern (4,844 mi) and southern (5,008 mi) routes; proposed but not federally designated.
Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail (A.T.), also called Appalachian National Scenic Trail: a 2,197.9-mile (2026) marked footpath from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Katahdin, Maine across 14 states; conceived by Benton MacKaye in 1921, opened 1937, first national scenic trail (1968).
Bigfoot 200
Bigfoot 200: 200.1-mile point-to-point ultramarathon in Washington's Cascades from Mount St. Helens to Randle, first held 2015 by Destination Trail; 44,082 ft gain, 107-hour cutoff, Triple Crown of 200s middle race.
Chisholm Trail
The Chisholm Trail was a nineteenth-century cattle-driving route carrying longhorns from southern Texas through Oklahoma to railheads in Kansas, chiefly Abilene, from 1867 to 1884.
Cocodona 250
Cocodona 250: about 250-mile point-to-point Arizona trail ultramarathon, Black Canyon City to Flagstaff, Aravaipa Running, first held 2021, 125-hour cutoff, ~40,000 ft gain; Rachel Entrekin set the 56:09:46 course record winning overall in 2026.
Continental Divide Trail
Continental Divide Trail (CDT), US National Scenic Trail designated 1978, administered by the USDA Forest Service; 3,100 authorized miles along the Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico through five states, the longest and most rugged of the Triple Crown trails.
Haiku Stairs
Haʻikū Stairs (Stairway to Heaven), a 3,922-step WWII-era Navy ladder on Oʻahu's Koʻolau Range, closed since 1987; dismantling began 2024 but is stalled by Friends of Haʻikū Stairs lawsuits.
John Muir Trail
John Muir Trail (JMT), a roughly 211-mile Sierra Nevada hiking trail from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney's summit, built with 1915 California funding won by the Sierra Club, completed 1938, sharing about 160 miles with the Pacific Crest Trail.
Manitou Incline
Manitou Incline, near Manitou Springs, Colorado: a 2,768-step stairway of railroad ties climbing about 2,000 feet at up to 68% grade, built in 1907 as a funicular railway, closed in 1990, and legal to hike since 2013 with required reservations.
Mormon Trail
Mormon Trail, the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, the 1,300-mile 1846-1847 route from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City used by over 70,000 Latter-day Saints until 1869.
Natchez Trace
Natchez Trace, also called the Old Trace, a historic 500-mile trail network from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, used for 10,000 years and now commemorated by the 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway, completed in 2005.
Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail: 2,000-mile overland emigrant route from the Missouri River to Oregon's Willamette Valley, used by 300,000-500,000 people 1840-1869; designated a National Historic Trail in 1978.
Pacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a 2,650-mile US National Scenic Trail from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon, and Washington, designated in 1968 and completed in 1993.
Stampede Trail
The Stampede Trail is an off-highway-vehicle and hiking trail in Denali Borough, Alaska, running west toward the Sushana River, known for the abandoned bus where Chris McCandless died in 1992.
Triple Crown of Hiking
Triple Crown of Hiking: completing the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail, about 8,000 miles total; recognized by ALDHA-West on the honor system, 889 awards as of 2026.