We need a little help picking which trail should take the title for 2023. We’ve narrowed the list down to three stellar nominees.

It’s a popular route for children heading to school, a place for retirees to get in a morning walk and a crucial link for bicycle commuters on their way to work. As any of its numerous advocates will tell you, coastal California’s Mill Valley/Sausalito Multiuse Pathway more than lives up to its multiuse name.

On Aug. 22, 1883, the final tracks of the Northern Pacific Railway were laid when a Chinese crew from the West met an Eastern crew of mostly Irish and Slavic workers near Inde­pendence Creek, Montana.

The River Mountains Loop Trail (RMLT) is a 35-mile paved path that zips through a wild fusion of landscapes—mountains, desert and lake views.

On Sept. 22, 2020, I started my four-day, 300-mile skate journey. The route took me through many cities, such as Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, as well as rural forest areas and cornfields. Although I faced a lot of obstacles along the way, the weather was generally perfect—warm days feeling that dimming autumn sun.

This is the Ozaukee Interurban Trail, a paved, 30-mile route flanking the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan through the northern suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

According to The Historical Marker Database, there are more than 176,000 historic markers, and there will be even more historic markers dedicated to elevating the stories of people and places along the Great American Rail-Trail®

Below are some of our favorite destinations along the Rock Island Trail, which is undergoing trail development and is not yet open for use.

“This towpath has made it so much easier for people to feel comfortable riding their bikes to a lot of places,” DevahD said. “You can shop off the towpath. You can eat off the towpath. You can play off the towpath. It can’t get any better than this.”

Users of the 51-mile Bitterroot Trail can sometimes forget to look past the road traffic and noise to fully appreciate the surrounding area bursting with history and natural beauty.