The 3.2-mile Tacony Creek Trail, paved and smooth as a river stone, flows along the waterway under the hush of tall old-growth trees.

Framed by the majestic Rocky Mountains, Montana’s Milwaukee Road Rail-Trail (Thompson Park) sits roughly equidistant between two national parks—just a half-day’s drive from both Yellowstone and Glacier.

About a 45-mile drive northwest of Boston, the Londonderry Rail Trail in the quaint southern New Hampshire town of Londonderry offers locals a slice of tranquility in an otherwise upside-down world with a 4.5-mile jaunt through verdant forests and wildlife-rich wetlands and along scenic ponds.

Floating sinuously over America’s longest waterway, the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge straddles the Missouri River between bustling Omaha—Nebraska’s largest city—and the quieter-feeling hometown of Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Today, the 13.58-mile Thermal Belt Rail Trail lies where the old Southern Railroad, and later the Thermal Belt Railway, once ran. The trail has been a boon for Rutherford County on a number of levels.

With a newly opened extension of the MCT Goshen Trail, travelers can now also access neighboring St. Clair County by trail for the first time. Providing even more transit options for locals, many of St. Clair County’s trails are being developed to intertwine with MetroLink, the region’s light rail system.

In the throes of peak leaf season, the stewards of New York’s Ashokan Rail Trail assembled at the Woodstock Dike Trailhead because they rightly suspected that trail users would overflow the first of the three parking lots to open.

New England in autumn is nature’s spectator sport, and a special place to view its riotous colors is the Nashua River Rail Trail, spanning just over 12 miles in Massachusetts and spilling into New Hampshire.

The Grand Canyon Greenway Trail totals 13 miles of paved pathway for biking and walking, providing access to numerous scenic viewpoints and attractions in the park.

Michigan’s Falling Waters Trail is a community connector, linking the vibrant City of Jackson to the picturesque Village of Concord.