Long-distance trail

Present-day Erie Canal near Rochester, New York

A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing.^[1] They exist on all continents except Antarctica.

Many trails are marked on maps. Typically, a long-distance route will be at least 50 km (30 mi) long, but many run for several hundred miles, or longer.^[2]

Many routes are waymarked and may cross public or private land and/or follow existing rights of way. Generally, the surface is not specially prepared, and the ground can be rough and uneven in areas, except in places such as converted rail tracks or popular walking routes where stone-pitching and slabs have been laid to prevent erosion.^[3] In some places, official trails will have the surface specially prepared to make the going easier.

^ Mueser, Roland (1997). Long-Distance Hiking: Lessons from the Appalachian Trail. McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 1–5. ISBN 0-07-044458-7. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
^ "The man who hiked 30 US national trails – in pictures". The Guardian. 2 October 2018. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
^ "Path Repair Techniques". www.fixthefells.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2018.

[1] Mueser, Roland (1997). Long-Distance Hiking: Lessons from the Appalachian Trail. McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 1–5. ISBN 0-07-044458-7. Retrieved 12 September 2009.

[2] "The man who hiked 30 US national trails – in pictures". The Guardian. 2 October 2018. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 June 2019.

[3] "Path Repair Techniques". www.fixthefells.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2018.

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