Already in place is the 13.4-mile Lower Las Vegas Wash Trail, which comprises the trail network’s eastern arc and is always a sure bet with beautiful parks, desert landscapes and vistas of the rugged mountains that ring the valley.

In terms of rail-trail mileage, Pennsylvania dominates, but in a crowded field, the Montour Trail—which forms a 55-mile arc around western Pittsburgh—is a standout with plenty of “wow” moments.

Both the Caperton and the pair of Mon River Trails on either side of Morgantown follow a branch of the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad, which primarily carried coal, coke, sand and limestone between the mines of Fairmont and the industrial city of Pittsburgh.

The story of Milwaukee’s Kinnickinnic River Trail is the story of its eponymous river; paralleling each other through the city’s south side, the fate of the two is intimately intertwined.

North Bend Rail Trail is the Trail of the Month. The 69 mile North Bend Rail Trail is in the pantheon of stories about local trail advocacy.

New York’s Erie Canalway Trail is the Trail of the Month and traces the canal’s route for nearly 365 miles.

The 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage is the July 2007 Trail of the Month, connecting Cumberland, MD to McKeesport, PA, with C&O Canal Towpath.