This Nationwide Bike Path Would Connect The Country Across 3,700+ Miles Of Trails
You may have heard of the 750-mile Empire Trail that connects Manhattan and Canada, but what if there was a trail more than triple the size that spanned the entire United States of America? Well, one has already been dreamed up, known as the Great American Rail-Trail. Covering more than 3,700 miles from Washington D.C. to the state of Washington, it would be the nation’s first cross-country multi-use trail.
So how would it work? The Great American Rail-Trail would use already existing rail-trails and greenways to complete the pathway, thus the project is already more than 55% complete. According to Rail-to-Trails Conservancy’s (RTC), the largest trails organization in the country, preferred route assessment, around 50,000,000 Americans would be within 50 miles of the trail, creating a connective and accessible bike network like never before.
The enormous trail would pass through 150+ existing trails in Washington, DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Washington.
It was with great care that the RTC considered the best direct route through communication with various trail partners and state agency representatives. Overall, the trail still requires 1,600 miles to be completed along the route.
Beyond the health benefits the trail would bring to millions of Americans, it would generate mass economic growth. For example, the Great American Rail-Trail could create $229.4 million in visitor spending, 2,500 new jobs, $22.8 million in tax revenue, and $104 million in labor income annually.
“The Great American Rail-Trail promises an all-new American experience, creating new access to the outdoors and America’s heritage, people and places for the millions of trail users who will visit. Across the nation—and the world—only the limits of imagination will limit how people chose to experience the Great American,” shares the Great American Rail-Trail website.
To learn more, visit here.
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