One of the largest completed sections of that developing network is a pair of connected rail-trails—the Heritage Rail Trail County Park and the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail—a 44-mile expanse.

This Independence Day weekend, celebrate the birth and growth of America by riding or striding into the past. We hope you enjoy this list of Top 10 Rail-Trails for American History!

The Switchback Gravity Railroad, built in 1827, was only the second railroad built in America. It ran nine miles, hauling coal from Summit Hill down to the town of Mauch Chunk and the Lehigh Canal in east central Pennsylvania.

For trail lovers around the country, these two Idaho rail-trails hardly need an introduction: the 73-mile Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes and the 15-mile Route of the Hiawatha.