NRT Designations:

NRTs designated in: 2012 | 2011
| 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
| 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001
US Forest Service designated NRTs
Bureau of Land Management NRTs
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service NRTs
US Army Corps of Engineers NRTs
Featured National Recreation Trails
Search the NRT Database

NRT application process:

Annual NRT Designations

National Recreation Trails may be designated by both the Secretary of Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to recognize exemplary trails of many kinds. Through designation, these trails are recognized as part of America's national system of trails.

National Recreation Trails

Designations by year

Since 2001, National Recreation Trails have been designated each year. See the entries below for each year's statistics and a link to details of the trails. For trails designated before 2001, see the online registry of NRTs.

2012 NRT designations • USDA

-- One new National Recreation Trail in Utah

-- Designated by Harv Forsgren, Regional Forester

-- See details of the 2012 USDA designation

Red Canyon Trail on the Dixie National Forest, Utah

2012 NRT designations • USDOI

-- 54 new National Recreation Trails in 23 states

-- Designated by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar

-- See details of the 2012 trails and links to Featured NRT pages

Carlyle Lake Multi-Use Trail, Kaskaskia River, Illinois

2011 NRT designations • USDOI

-- 41 new National Recreation Trails in 17 states

-- Designated by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar

-- See details of the 2011 trails and links to Featured NRT pages

Withlacoochee State Trail, Citrus Springs to Trilby, Florida

2010 NRT designations • USDOI

-- 31 new National Recreation Trails in 15 states

-- Designated by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar

-- See details of the 2010 trails and links to Featured NRT pages

South Creek Greenway, Springfield, Missouri

2009 NRT designations • USDOI

-- 22 new National Recreation Trails in 13 states

-- Designated by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar

-- See details of the 2009 trails and links to Featured NRT pages

Walkway Over the Hudson, Poughkeepsie to Highland, New York

2008 NRT designations • USDOI

-- 24 new National Recreation Trails in 16 states

-- Designated by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne

-- See details of the 2008 trails and links to Featured NRT pages

Apalachicola River Paddling Trail System in Florida

2008 NRT designations • USDA

-- Four new National Recreation Trails in four states

-- Designated by Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman

-- See details of the 2008 USDA trails

The Ozark Trail on the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri

2007 NRT designations • USDOI

-- 40 New National Recreation Trails in 22 States

-- Designated by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne

-- See details of the 2007 trails and links to Featured NRTs

Horton's Slough Trail at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Okla.

2006 NRT designations • USDOI

-- 36 new National Recreation Trails in 24 states

-- Designated by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne

-- See details of the 2006 trails and links to Featured NRT pages

Bird to Gird Pathway follows the Turnagain Arm, Alaska

2005 NRT designations • USDOI

-- 37 new National Recreation Trails in 23 states

-- Designated by Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton

-- See details of the 2005 trails and links to Featured NRT pages

Wetlands Loop Trail, Rocky Mountain Arsenal Nat'l Wildlife Refuge, CO

2004 NRT designations • USDOI

-- 27 new National Recreation Trails in 15 states

-- Designated by Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton

-- See details of the 2004 trails and links to Featured NRT page

American Tobacco Trail, Durham and Wake Counties, North Carolina

2003 NRT designations • USDOI

-- 23 new National Recreation Trails in 12 states.

-- Designated by Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton

-- See details of the 2003 trails and links to Featured NRTs

Cross Island Trail on Maryland's Eastern Shore

2003 NRT designations • USDA

-- Four trails on national forests and grasslands in CA, NV, ND, and VA

-- Designated by Eastern Region Deputy Regional Forester Forest L. Starkey

-- See details of trails on USDA land designated in 2003

Tahoe Rim Trail circles Lake Tahoe, Nevada and California

2002 NRT designations • USDOI

-- 26 new National Recreation Trails in 16 states

-- Designated by Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton

-- See details of 2002 trails and links to Featured NRTs

Lake Wobegon Trail, Stearns County, Minnesota

2001 NRT designations • USDOI

-- 15 new National Recreation Trails in 13 states

-- Designated by Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton

-- See details of the 2001 trails and links to Featured NRT page

Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway

National Recreation Trail designation is an honor given to existing trails that have been nominated and meet the requirements for connecting people to local resources and improving their quality of life. The National Trails System Act of 1968 authorizes the NRT designations, which are now part of a continuing campaign to promote community partnerships and to foster innovative ways to encourage physical fitness.

The NRT program is jointly administered by the federal land management agencies (National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) in conjunction with nonprofit partners, notably American Trails, which hosts the National Recreation Trails website at www.americantrails.org/nationalrecreationtrails.

Each year nominations for designation of new National Recreation Trails may be submitted. Details of the program may be found on the NRT website hosted by American Trails: (www.americantrails.org/nationalrecreationtrails).

See how to update online trail information in the National Recreation Trails online database or send changes by e-mail to nrt@americantrails.org.