America’s
National Scenic Trails
Kathleen Ann Cordes
Photos by Jane Lammers
Reviewer: Charles M. Nobles of Tulsa, Okla.
May 20, 2001
This is one of those rare travel books that will inform and entertain the armchair traveler while at the same time provide invaluable information to the trekker setting out to explore one of the Congressionally sponsored National Scenic Trails. Congress established the National Trails System Act in 1968 for the purpose of creating a trail system that would provide long-distance paths through some of the most scenic country in America and preserve trails that contributed to our history. Since 1968 the trail system has designated twelve national historic trails, some eight hundred national recreation trails and eight national scenic trails.
This book focuses on the eight National Scenic Trails in the system and is a great guide to the almost 16,000 miles they encompass through 30 states. The trails range in length from 694 miles (the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail) to the 4,300 mile North Country National Scenic Trail. The trails, due to the diversity of their locations, can be traveled in all four seasons and contain some, if not all, of the best scenery and animal life, not to mention historical significance, that the United States has to offer.
The National Scenic Trails are Appalachian, Continental Divide, Florida, Ice Age, Natchez Trace, North Country, Pacific Crest, and Potomac. The book is a combination travel guide and history lesson that is written in a highly readable, fact-filled manner. For each of the eight trails there is a history of the trail, a description of the trail today, a list of points of interest, detailed maps, state-by-state tourist information, a listing of the total mileage of the trail, and the states it traverses. For those of us that probably will not attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail “straight through” (it’s 2,144 miles long!) the author thoughtfully gives suggestions on where one can enter the trail at numerous locations and walk for a few hours with time for a picnic lunch.
This is a splendid general reference book for the National Scenic Trails. For the reader desiring more specific information on any of the trails the author has included a complete, up-to-date listing of all state and public land agencies, an exhaustive bibliography, an index, and 87 color illustrations and detailed, yet readable, maps. Armchair travelers and wanderers of all types will be delighted.
Charles M. Nobles, nwanc@telepath.com, is co-founder of A Gathering of Writers, an organization dedicated to the encouragement & promotion of writers and their works.
