A privilege of my job is to visit trails and public spaces across the country and meet inspiring supporters and leaders.

Now, with its 112-year history, the Hennepin Canal Parkway seems a natural for its latest chapter—as a “gateway trail” in the nearly 4,000-mile Great American Rail-Trail, a cross-country route planned by Rails to Trails Conservancy (RTC) to stretch across the United States, from Washington, D.C., to Washington State.

Imagine what’s possible with a trail that connects the country. That vision will become a reality thanks to the Great American Rail-Trail, a signature project of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and the organization’s most ambitious TrailNation™ project yet.

The Great Allegheny Passage, the country's longest multi-purpose trail and the site of the 2007 Greenway Sojourn, and also the first inductee to Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Rail-Trail Hall of Fame.