Considering all the hubbub about the increasing price of gas, juxtaposed with walkable cities, I thought I’d take a look at another well known mode of transportation. It’s called biking or cycling -or bicycling depending on the circles you travel in. (Pun intended). While many people are somehow aware of famous bike trails that crisscross Europe, seems fewer people are aware of the many extended bike trails right in our own backyards. According to the Adventure Cycling’s National Bicycle Route Network there are more than 22.000 miles of bicycle routes etched throughout America’s more scenic landscapes.
The following provides the length of the bike trails, the trail’s name, originating city and state of some of the longest trails in the US. Many of the trails are structured and maintained such that all motorized vehicles are strictly prohibited. Together, the list comprises about 9,406 miles or 43% of the Network’s total. Not surprisingly, most of the longest trails transverse or are located in and around the nation’s midsection or Midwestern states which are less densely populated. Also, many of the trails are actually rails to trails conversions. These are essentially converted historic railroad beds that may also parallel rivers and cross bridges. A lot of the trails are maintained by state national parks.
In addition to the trails included here, there are probably scores of far shorter trails that are 20-50 miles in length.
Trail Length, Trail Name, (originating) City and State
4,247.5 miles, The TransAmerica Bicycle Trail , Astoria, Oregon. This transcontinental trail crosses ten American states from Astoria, Oregon
to Yorkstown, Pennsylvania
2,500 miles, Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, Roosville, Montanta to Antelope Wells, New Mexico – The trails stretches north-south beyond US borders from Canada to Mexico. (Ok, so it’s not territorially in the US). It’s the longest off-pavement bike route in the world. It will take an ordinary human 3 months to complete.
820 miles, the Continental Divide Trail, Helena, Montana
475 miles, The Grand Illinois Trail (GIT) ,Chicago Illinois, It connects Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River; and is a loop trail–wherever one starts, they can travel the entire trail without backtracking.
335 miles, GAP/C&O; (The Greater Allegheny Passage/C&O; Trail) it begins and ends in a big city. Imagine it: You can ride from downtown Washington, DC to downtown Pittsburg, PA
264 miles, Katy Trail, St Louis MO, Over half of it follows Lewis and Clark’s path up the Missouri River
195 miles, Cowboy Trail Lincoln, Nebraska the longest rail-to-trail conversion in progress in the United States, and includes a 148-foot high bridge over the Niobrara River
115 miles, The Elroy Sparta Trail, Sparta, Wisconsin — one of the most popular bike trails in America and the first official bike trail in the United States, first rails to trails bike trail in America
113 miles, the John Wayne Pioneer Trail, Seattle Washington
109 miles, George S. Mickelson Trail (South Dakota)
75 miles, the Munger Trail, Duluth, Minnesota – Thought to be the longest paved bike trail in the world
72 miles, Little Miami Scenic Trail, Springfield Ohio – paved
55 miles, Croom Trails (Withlacoochee State Forest, Brooksville), Florida
30 miles, Boyette Scrub (Boyette Scrub Preserve (South Brandon), Florida
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