America's National Scenic Trails

By Kathleen A. Cordes and Steven Elkinton

Book Overview

A traveler's guide to America's eight official National Scenic Trails describes each route, lists points of interest for each trail, furnishes helpful travel information about each, and details the flora, fauna, attractions, landmarks, and geography of the Appalachian, Continental Divide, Natchez Tr

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806132965
• ISBN13: 9780806132969
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.8" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Excellent overview of the NSTs

This book provides and excellent overview of eight National Scenic Trails, from the Appalachian to the Pacific Crest Trails, and including the Natchez Trace, Potomic Heritage, Florida, Continental Divide, North Country, and Ice Age Trails. Each trail gets a separate chapter, and within each chapter we get an historical overview, what each trail is like today, and a fairly comprehensive listing of points of interest for each NST. Maps are also included, though they are not very detailed. Some of the trails will probably be familiar to most people (the Appalachian and Natchez Trace, for example), but others may not be. I'd never heard of the Florida NST until reading about it here; it stretches from Big Cypress Swamp in the south all the way up and over to the western end of the panhandle near Pensacola. The North Country NST, one of the newest of the trails, is still very much under development and incorporates many local trails in state parks and national forests in the seven states it crosses (NY to ND). The Potomac Heritage NST runs over much of the C & O Canal Towpath along the Potomac River, where there are many historical points of interest. Armchair travellers might find this book more pertinent than hikers: those in the field might want more detailed information than is provided here. But for anyone planning on hiking any of these trails, or part of them, you will find much good material here to get you started and direct your attention to the more general things you can expect to encounter along the way. The book is well-illustrated, has an excellent index, and is printed on slick, sturdy paper. Highly recommended.

Great overview of our National Scenic Trails!!

This is the best resource available for an overview of America's eight National Scenic Trails. It is a MUST for anyone with an interest in our National Trails System.

A good choice for arm-chair travelers and wanderers alike

This is one of those rare travel books that will inform and entertain the armchair traveler while at the same time provide invaluable information to the trekker setting out to explore one of the Congressionally sponsored National Scenic Trails. Congress established the National Trails System Act in 1968 for the purpose of creating a trail system that would provide long-distance paths through some of the most scenic country in America and preserve trails that contributed to our history. Since 1968 the trail system has designated twelve national historic trails, some eight hundred national recreation trails and eight national scenic trails. This book focuses on the eight National Scenic Trails in the system and is a great guide to the almost 16,000 miles they encompass through 30 states. The trails range in length from 694 miles (the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail) to the 4,300 mile North Country National Scenic Trail. The trails, due to the diversity of their locations, can be traveled in all four seasons and contain some, if not all, of the best scenery and animal life, not to mention historical significance, that the United States has to offer. The National Scenic Trails are Appalachian, Continental Divide, Florida, Ice Age, Natchez Trace, North Country, Pacific Crest, and Potomac. The book is a combination travel guide and history lesson that is written in a highly readable, fact-filled manner. For each of the eight trails there is a history of the trail, a description of the trail today, a list of points of interest, detailed maps, state-by-state tourist information, a listing of the total mileage of the trail, and the states it traverses. For those of us that probably will not attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail "straight through"(it's 2,144 miles long!) the author thoughtfully gives suggestions on where one can enter the trail at numerous locations and walk for a few hours with time for a picnic lunch. This is a splendid general reference book for the National Scenic Trails. For the reader desiring more specific information on any of the trails the author has included a complete, up-to-date listing of all state and public land agencies, an exhaustive bibliography, an index, and 87 color illustrations and detailed, yet readable, maps. June 2nd is National Trails Day and what better way to learn about those national treasures that getting a copy of this book. This is a perfect example of the quality publications one can expect from the University of Oklahoma Press. Armchair travelers and wanderers of all types will be delighted.