View Full Version : List of Long Distance trails
shades of blue
12-15-2006, 09:49
I've been thinking about all the different trails in the US and thought it would be interesting to get a list of Long Distance trails, length of trails, states they begin and end in...ect. I'm not sure how to define long distance..maybe 100+ miles? Also, it would be interesting to know if they are completed yet or not. Could you also tell us if you've hiked that complete trail, or even part of it? I've done a google on this, but would like to hear from my Whiteblaze brothers and sisters.
Two of my favorite "short" long trails. Finger Lakes Trail, in New York, and the Mid-State trail, in MA. The latter has special significance to AT hikers... Benton MacKaye being the link between the two. Haven't hiked either one end-to-end, but I've been thinking of doing the Mid-State trail, in sections, as a project for this winter. It's all of about 90 miles long.
Hammock Hanger
12-15-2006, 10:16
My fav short; long distance hike was the Northville Placid in upstate NY. It is 132 miles. I did this as a thru-hike in 1998.
The ALDHA directory has a list of trails, but without the mileage. Then there's the Thru-hikers Guide to America which list 25 long trails with some info on each.
http://www.amazon.com/Hikers-Guide-America-Thru-Hikers-Handbooks/dp/0071433643/sr=8-6/qid=1166192299/ref=sr_1_6/103-6275219-9799004?ie=UTF8&s=books
Here's the table of contents of Thru-hikers Guide. It list 25 trail, the states they're in and the mileges.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0071433643/ref=sib_dp_bod_toc/103-6275219-9799004?ie=UTF8&p=S008#reader-link
The Solemates
12-15-2006, 10:29
The possibilities of good trails in the US are virtually endless.
Trails we have hiked that fit the bill are:
Appalachian Trail
Alabama Pinhoti Trail (140 miles in AL)
Ozark Highlands Trail (165 miles in AR)
Bartram Trail (120 miles in GA/NC)
Ozark Trail (~700 miles when complete in MO)
Other trails we have hiked of slightly less length, but which are still notable:
Foothills Trail (80 miles in SC)
Resurrection Trail (80 miles in AK)
Art Loeb Trail (40 miles in NC)
Laurel Highlands Trail (70 miles in PA)
Chattooga River Trail (30 miles in SC)
This is just a sampling of what is available. There literally hundreds. Once we complete our section hikes of the OHT and APT, which hopefully will come by end of 2007, we have our eyes set on probably the River-to-River Trail in IL.
The Solemates
12-15-2006, 10:33
The ALDHA directory has a list of trails, but without the mileage. Then there's the Thru-hikers Guide to America which list 25 long trails with some info on each.
http://www.amazon.com/Hikers-Guide-America-Thru-Hikers-Handbooks/dp/0071433643/sr=8-6/qid=1166192299/ref=sr_1_6/103-6275219-9799004?ie=UTF8&s=books
this is a pretty decent book to get your feet wet about these trails. it gives a good general overview of each trail. from there, you can dig further to get maps and guidebooks, etc.
LOL... While doing a search I found this...
http://www.backpacker.com/classictrails/sidebar_tarlin.html
Jack, doing an interview for Backpacker. Pretty good...
gtothero
12-15-2006, 13:35
Pennsylvania's Mid State Trail (260 miles) is a favorite. It will be a part of the Great Eastern Trail.
In north-central PA, there is a network of trails that interconnect creating a lot of options over 100 miles including:
Black Forest trail - 42 miles
Susquehannock Trail - 85 miles
Donut Hole Trail - 81 miles
Quehanna Trail - 73 miles
http://www.aldhawest.org/trails/ot_def.asp
Aldha-west has seperate entries for the AT,PCT,CDT, ADT, FT and Ice Age Trail
The shorter trails I have done are the 270 mile Long Trail in Vermont (twice; great way to get ready for the AT and a good way to say "goodbye" to Eastern hiking) and the ~500 mile Colorado Trail. Was a wonderful way to see my adopted home state.
Doing the long scenic trails are wonderful. Does not always fit into a schedule, though!
The Weasel
12-15-2006, 17:30
One of the best long distance trails for US hikers in the NE and Midwest isn't in the US, but in Canada The "Bruce Trail" runs from Niagara Falls, ON to Tobermory, ON, and is extremely accessible from Buffalo and Detroit/Port Huron, MI. It's about 450 miles, loaded with history, moderate in difficulty, and the last 75 miles to Tobermory (from Owen Sound) along Georgian Bay, are incredibly scenic and pretty wild, including in Bruce Peninsula National Park. It's also an incredible snowshoeing trail, with some of the best snow and reasonable wild areas (perfect shoeing territory) I've ever seen.
The Weasel
One of the best long distance trails for US hikers in the NE and Midwest isn't in the US, but in Canada The "Bruce Trail" runs from Niagara Falls, ON to Tobermory, ON, and is extremely accessible from Buffalo and Detroit/Port Huron, MI. It's about 450 miles, loaded with history, moderate in difficulty, and the last 75 miles to Tobermory (from Owen Sound) along Georgian Bay, are incredibly scenic and pretty wild, including in Bruce Peninsula National Park. It's also an incredible snowshoeing trail, with some of the best snow and reasonable wild areas (perfect shoeing territory) I've ever seen.
The Weasel
Theres a trail that ends in Tobermory?!?!? OH my gosh, I havent thought about that place in years. It was about 25 years ago, my family had a camper on a pickup and we drove the 40 mile, single lane, dirt road allllll the way to Tobermory. We found a campsite just out of town (if you can call it a town!) And got visited by the bears during the night.
That would be a fantastic hike, thanks for bringing that up, I'll have to start looking into that!
The Weasel
12-15-2006, 17:55
Theres a trail that ends in Tobermory?!?!? OH my gosh, I havent thought about that place in years. It was about 25 years ago, my family had a camper on a pickup and we drove the 40 mile, single lane, dirt road allllll the way to Tobermory. We found a campsite just out of town (if you can call it a town!) And got visited by the bears during the night.
That would be a fantastic hike, thanks for bringing that up, I'll have to start looking into that!
Well, the mind plays tricks on us...25 years ago I took my first journey on it with the Scout Troop I led...and the road was paved.
"The Bruce" is Canada's oldest long trail, and very wild in the north. It follows the "Niagara Escarpment" from Niagara to Tobermory, the best scuba wreck diving site in the Great Lakes.. South from Tobermory, you get so close to Georgian Bay's crystal waters (you can see the bottom 50' down) you can jump into it (from 20' up!), and you pass some of the oldest trees in North America (Cedars) that rival the bristlecone pine in age. It's a UN Biosphere. South from Owen Sound it's through rolling field and forest, and a delight. It can be thruhiked aggressively in the spring/summer in as little as 3 weeks.
http://www.brucetrail.org/
The Weasel
Hammock Hanger
12-15-2006, 18:36
Well, the mind plays tricks on us...25 years ago I took my first journey on it with the Scout Troop I led...and the road was paved.
"The Bruce" is Canada's oldest long trail, and very wild in the north. It follows the "Niagara Escarpment" from Niagara to Tobermory, the best scuba wreck diving site in the Great Lakes.. South from Tobermory, you get so close to Georgian Bay's crystal waters (you can see the bottom 50' down) you can jump into it (from 20' up!), and you pass some of the oldest trees in North America (Cedars) that rival the bristlecone pine in age. It's a UN Biosphere. South from Owen Sound it's through rolling field and forest, and a delight. It can be thruhiked aggressively in the spring/summer in as little as 3 weeks.
http://www.brucetrail.org/
The Weasel
My friend has been trying to get me to hike the Bruce for sometime now... Maybe someday. I think what holds me back is how the Bruce Organization is so now on "thru-hiking", they would prefer that you dayhike it.
Kerosene
12-15-2006, 18:48
After I finally finish the AT (in 2013 atop Katahdin if you don't know by now!) I want to tackle these trails, mostly as thru-hikes:
John Muir Trail (222 miles)
Cohos (162)
Wonderland (95)
Benton MacKaye (96)
Tahoe Rim (165)
Superior (205)
Northville-Placid (135)
Metacomet-Monadnock (120)
Baker (141)
Finger Lakes (562)
Ozark (700)
Colorado (470)
...and maybe the Ice Age Trail (1,100) if I'm still kicking.
The Weasel
12-15-2006, 19:01
My friend has been trying to get me to hike the Bruce for sometime now... Maybe someday. I think what holds me back is how the Bruce Organization is so now on "thru-hiking", they would prefer that you dayhike it.
It can be a bit harder, now, since camping needs to be at permitted locations, but it's still very worth doing, esp from Owen Sound north and most of all from Lion's Head north.
The Weasel
The National Scenic Trails Act (of 1968) lists quite a few of these trails. The text is online. This URL may or may not work for you:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode16/usc_sec_16_00001244----000-.html
If not, just google on "The National Scenic Trails Act" and you'll find right away.
I've been hiking The Long Path recently. This trail extends from NJ side of The George Washington Bridge to Thacher State Park near Albany NY. Total length is 326 miles. So far I've done a little over 100 miles as day hikes.
http://www.nynjtc.org/trails/longpath/
The Sheltowee Trace Trail is a 260 mile long trail. It starts in Tenn at Pickett State Park and ends in northern Ky.
There is a John Muir Trail in Big South Fork. It is 46 miles long
Theres a trail that ends in Tobermory?!?!? OH my gosh, I havent thought about that place in years. It was about 25 years ago, my family had a camper on a pickup and we drove the 40 mile, single lane, dirt road allllll the way to Tobermory. We found a campsite just out of town (if you can call it a town!) And got visited by the bears during the night.
That would be a fantastic hike, thanks for bringing that up, I'll have to start looking into that!
http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=79253 (http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=78362)
humunuku
12-16-2006, 01:44
The Cumberland Trail In TN is in construction mode
These are the long'ish trails in Pennsylvania:
http://www.kta-hike.org/Trails/MapsGuides.shtml
Hammock Hanger
12-16-2006, 11:57
Then of course there is the Great Eastern Trail, (GET).
I will be hiking this come April. If you were at the Gathering you may have heard Mowgli introduce this trail. It is a number of trails that will connect from AL to NY along the western side of the Appalachians. It is not fully completed as there are still sections of road walk, but I'm gonna go for it anyway. www.trailjournals.com/hammockhangerGET06/