Nearly 650 miles have been added to the National Trails System thanks to the designation this week of 41 trails as National Recreation Trails.

The additions span 17 states and offer both land and water trails that "provide opportunities for communities to connect with nature and enjoy the great outdoors as part of a healthier lifestyle, the core principles behind President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Outside! initiatives," an Interior Department release said.
                                                                                                  
“From coast to coast, National Recreation Trails help connect Americans with the wonders of America’s Great Outdoors," said Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes. "Today’s new National Recreation Trails, built through partnerships with local communities and stakeholders, provide great opportunities for people to get outside, get active and have fun.  The trails establish a strong link in our urban and rural communities alike to a conservation legacy for future generations to build upon."
 
The announcement of the additions was made on the Lake Michigan waterfront where Deputy Secretary Hayes and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin designated the new Lake Michigan Water Trail – Chicago to New Buffalo Section, which is the first leg of an ambitious shoreline trail around the entire Lake.  The designation of the Lake Michigan Water Trail is part of President Obama’s larger vision, as outlined through the America’s Great Outdoors report, to create connected water trails along America’s waterways with a network of public access points.
 
The following 41 trails have been designated as National Recreation Trails.  For more information on each trail, see the attached PDF.
 
ALABAMA

Chattahoochee Valley Railroad (CVRR) Trail – Northern Section
Chattahoochee Valley Railroad (CVRR) Trail – Southern Section
Chewacla State Park Trail System
Chief Ladiga Trail (Jacksonville Section)
Chief Ladiga Trail (Piedmont Section)
Citronelle Walking Trail
City of Foley Antique Rose Trail
DeSoto State Park Trail System
Florala-Lake Jackson Scenic Trail
Lake Guntersville State Park Trail System
Lake Lurleen State Park Trail System
The Larry and Ronna Dykes Trail
Montevallo Greenway Trail
Queen City Park Trail
Sunset Drive Trail
Swan Creek Greenway Trail
Talladega-Lincoln Outdoor Park Trails (T.O.P.TRAILS)
Tannehill Tramway Trail
Village Pointe Preserve Park Trail System
Wind Creek State Park Trail System
Yoholo-Micco, The Creek Indian Trail
 
ARKANSAS

Old Post Mountain Bike Trail
Springhill Park Mountain Bike Trail
 
CONNECTICUT

Quinebaug River Water Trail – Thompson Section
 
FLORIDA

Tom Varn Hiking and Jogging Trail
Withlacoochee State Trail
 
ILLINOIS, INDIANA, MICHIGAN

Lake Michigan National Water Trail – Chicago to New Buffalo Segment
 
INDIANA

Ray Yellig Memorial Trail
 
KANSAS

Sand Creek Trail
 
MARYLAND

Catoctin Trail (Blue Trail)
 
MASSACHUSETTS

The Waverley Trail
 
MINNESOTA

Froland Waterfowl Production Area Interpretive Trail
 
NEW JERSEY

Barclay Farm Trails
Croft Farm Trails
 
NEW MEXICO

Berg/Animas Trail
 
OKLAHOMA

Sandtown Nature Trail
 
PENNSYLVANIA

Blue Marsh Lake Multi-Use Trail
Susquehanna River Water Trail – West Branch
 
TENNESSEE

Warriors' Path State Park Mountain Bike Trail System
 
WEST VIRGINIA

McTrail
Ralph S. Larue/West Fork Trail
 
The National Recreation Trail designation recognizes existing trails and trail systems that link communities to recreational opportunities on public lands and in local parks across the nation. Each of the new National Recreation Trails will receive a certificate of designation, a letter of congratulations from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and a set of trail markers. These trails join a network of more than 1,100 previously designated trails that total more than 13,000 miles.
 
The National Recreation Trail program is jointly administered by the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service in conjunction with a number of other federal and nonprofit partners, notably American Trails, which hosts the national recreation trails website at http://www.americantrails.org/nationalrecreationtrails.