THE TOP RAIL TRAILS IN THE U.S. - Trails that belong on every bicycle tourist's bike-it list

[Music] you know ever since I first heard about the idea of rail Trails I was really fascinated I thought what a great idea that you could actually get on your bike and ride without having to worry about being on the street having to be in traffic I think it was a little kid at the time and over the years I found myself riding on many of these rail trails and have fallen in love with so many of them and I thought to put together a little video about you know what I think are the top rail trails in the country so this is a list of in my opinion the top rail trails in the United States I should say that although this is a list of rail Trails I did include Canal trails in there as well since from a cycling perspective they're essentially the same thing but before we move ahead with this top 10 list if you do enjoy this video or if you've enjoyed any of our epic and not so epic Adventures please go ahead and subscribe when you subscribe or share or like or comment it helps get our Channel out to more people so without further Ado let's go ahead with the top 10 list of rail trails in the United States starting with number 10 the route of the hawaa now most of these trails on this list are much longer trails and the route of the hawaa is not that at all it's only 15 Mi long but what it lacks in length it makes up for in a lot of other ways located at the Montana Idaho State Line high in the bit rout mountains it's easily one of the most scenic trails in the entire United States throughout the length of the smooth hard pack Trail you're witness to a fascinating railroad history with seven all inspiring trestles and 10 tunnels the longest is 1.6 mil long it was originally part of the Milwaukee Road a rail line that stretched from Milwaukee to Seattle and also forms the route of the paloa Cascades Trail in Washington the trail can be ridden as an out and back or he can ride the 15 Mi downhill and take a shuttle back but it's no Free Ride passes start at $12 for kids and it can be high as $40 for adults who opt for the shuttle ride back up to the trail head I prefer skipping the shuttle and just riding back but either way you're going to pay there is a charge for using the trail still trust me it's worth it this Trail is an absolute gem now you can lengthen your ride to the West along a quiet Forest Road that will take you eventually to the trail of the cor Lanes or you can extend it to the east along the route of the Olympians but if you take that extension you know when we did this on our cross country route we found it to be a rocky slog for the most part hopefully there's plans to improve that but the route of the hawaa is fabulous in and of itself so then at number nine Trail of the cordel lanes just adjacent to the route of the hawaa this route comes close to spanning the entire width of Idaho with end points at plumber to the west and Mullen to the east in between are 72 Mi of essentially flat pure rail trail Bliss in the west the trail for a Time follows the beautiful shores of chatalet Lake a southern arm of the lake L cord Lane with a bridge that spans the width of the lake in dramatic fashion the town of Harrison along the way is a lovely stop with a great Lakeside Campground from there the trail heads into the hills and forests of Idaho it's not unlikely that you'll see moose along here as the trail skirts beautiful bogs and waterways adorned with lily pads there's also bear but no Grizzlies elk wolves even cougars and for a different kind of wildlife check out the snake pit a 140-year-old restaurant bar and local institution just off the trail as you make your way East you'll ride through mining country the old silver mining town of Wallace is a beautiful stop with loads of history and a gorgeous setting high in the bitter roots from there it's only a few miles to Mullen in the Terminus of the trail but if one's adventurous you can follow the somewhat rougher norac Trail over the bitter route divide and into Mont Hana an exciting option is the Bitterroot 300K which combines the trail of the Cal Lanes with the route of the hawaa and other trails and routes to form a nearly 200 mile multi-day Loop through outstanding Idaho scenery now one of the things that makes these Trails special is that they provide a glimpse into a one-of-a-kind American landscape the George mikkelson Trail at number 8 is a great example at 109 M long this Trail follows the spine of the unique geological feature known as the Black Hills of South Dakota it's worth noting that this Trail is a bit steeper than your average rail trail where most rail Trails don't exceed 2% grades the mikkelson has some sustained climbs that reach 4% making it a bit harder than most but the wild Western scenery here certainly makes it worth the effort with over 100 Bridge Crossings and four tunnels the railroad history here is Alive and Well it begins to the north in the Old West Town of Deadwood famous as a TV show and now a lively gambling Mecca the trail leads you along a crushed stone surface through the beautiful black hills through Hill City kuster and finishing up at Edgemont where the hills meet the high plains along the way you can see the dramatic Crazy Horse Memorial and with a bit of extra effort capture views of Mount Rushmore from an even ride to Wind Cave National Park all in all it's a great way to spend spend a few days exploring one of America's unique Western Landscapes still in the west and coming in at number seven is the Olympic Discovery Trail this would be higher on the list except that it's still very much a work in progress the trail traverses the width of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state another unique American region with a tall mountain range in the center of the peninsula creating to the West the US's wetest temperate rainforest when finished the ODT will cut over 138 mi from the Pacific coast all the way to the Puget Sound at this time only about 90 Mi are complete the trail is planned to begin in laush on the Pacific coast where the Rails to Trails Great American rail trail begins indeed this Trail is the Western most section of the Great American rail trail however today the trail starts just north of forks about 30 Mi Inland and a few other unfinished sections will mean cyclist will have to be on quiet and little used roads for some of the route and while this can be concern for some people these roads are often as quiet as rail trails and provide lovely Vistas in their own right some of the highlights include beautiful Lake Crescent The Bluest Lake you will ever see and an amazing stretch just east of Port Angeles that leads you along the Salish Sea Trail towns include Forks which is home to the Twilight sagas Port Angeles Port Towns and a beautiful town in its own r and squim in between our gorgeous sea coasts Mountain views quaint farmlands and those Lush Lush forests the trail is built on several different rail routes mostly they were used for Timber hauling and you'll find historic Bridges and tunnels all along the way the trail surface varies between crushed stone and pavement although none of it's rough despite the unfinished business it's hard to find a more Scenic and interesting rail trail than the Olympic discovery Trail next at number six is a combo platter the Katy Trail and The Rock Island trail in Missouri beginning just outside of Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium the Rock Island spur spans 60 Mi to join the better known Katy Trail in Windsor which then extends the rest of the width of Missouri terminating near St Louis and forming what is close to a true endtoend State trail spanning 29 5 miles along its length it's composed of crushed limestone a smooth and comfortable ride and I've spoken with Road cyclists who found it to be completely rable on thin tires The Rock Island spur when we rode it was a bit rougher and looser but still no problem this deserves a place on the list not only because it's so long but also because of its outstanding Beauty following along this Trail means weaving in and out of prairie in the west lowland forest in the east east past Farmland along the mighty Missouri River beneath steep Bluffs and through beautiful and historic towns like Pleasant Hill Herman sadelia Booneville and St Charles short Spurs connect the college city of Columbia and the state capital Jefferson City both worth a visit Summers can be hot and humid as we found up but still really spectacular a lot of history can be found here as well as it follows the original route of Lewis and Clark as well as the descendants of Daniel Boon as they settled the West future plans call for the Rock Island Trail to be extended from where it meets the Kad and Windsor all the way to Washington forming a 400m Loop that will be the Envy of the nation without a doubt the Katy Trail network is a bucket list worthy route for anyone seeking to explore the quieter side of America okay for the fifth Trail on our list we're traveling back to the beautiful state of Washington the poo to Cascades Trail is actually a couple of trails linked together to form one the John Wayne Trail which crossed the Eastern desert side of the state of Washington and the Iron Horse Trail which crossed the Cascades in the wetter Western half together they form a 285m long hard packed gravel route that crosses most of the state and is one of the longest rail trails in the country starting just east of Seattle this beauty goes through the thick Pacific North West Lush forests before climbing gradually to the snow qualy tunnel a 2.3m tunnel that crosses the Cascades divide one of the exciting aspects of this Trail is the sudden change of climate that you experience you begin in Spruce forests but as soon as you cross into the Eastern side of the tunnel Everything Changes by the time you reach Ellensburg you're in a dramatically different climate and the rest of the way is rough dry empty and challenging at least so I've heard we only rode the trail to celum the bridges and tunnels are a real attraction and besides the snow quami tunnel there are numerous other tunnels and the newly renovated Beverly Bridge is a true classic making a dramatic crossing over the wide Columbia we rode the Western half on our ride across the United States and found it exceptional with a lot of history and stunning flora and wide views Over the Misty Mountains of the castle aades reports I've heard is that the eastern half is still very rugged and with few towns one has to do their research before wandering off on this track but I've also heard that it's exceptionally beautiful if you love that dry Wide Open Range kind of thing coming in at number four is the northern Rail Trail now this one doesn't really make a lot of top 10 list and I really can't fathom why we rode this at the end of October which isn't really the prime time but we found it to be really an incredible Trail rising up from the Connecticut River at the Vermont border going over the White Mountains of New Hampshire all the way to Concord the state capital at just 59 Mi it's hardly a long ride but to be able to ride through these elegant New England Landscapes makes it all worth it riding past the Serene New Hampshire Lakes is reminiscent of reading thorough and the bogs and marshes along the way are dreamy and enchanting all along one is reminded of the special beauty of New England with covered bridges sweet little Trailside towns with General stores and miles of grand forested hilly nature old railroad cuts through granite remind the writer why the state is nicknamed the granite state and there are plans to make it part of the future Granite State rail trail which would cross the state from White River Junction Vermont to Salem at the Massachusetts border the northern rail trail is an excellent way to get a taste of the soft and beautiful landscapes of New England moving right along we have a trail that's not a rail trail at all the Erie Canal Trail making my third spot for the top 10 rail trails at 365 M long it's easily one of the longest cycling trails on the continent although like many of the others it's still a work in progress with 75 to 85% of it fully off-road and every year sees a little bit more work completed on our ride we found the on-road section to be pleasant diversions and rarely challenging or dangerous and yes technically it's not a rail trail but it's still an abandoned Transportation Corridor repurposed for our riding enjoyment and its history goes back further than rail trails to before the time when railroads Were King the trail towns and the canal infrastructure along the way hearkened back to the very early days of our country during a time when canals were the way that commerce was moved the canal itself is still in use but has been reach directed in places and the trail for the most part follows the old Canal route and where the old canal still operates you have the fortune of writing through charming and historic towns that sprung up when the canal was built in the early 1800s towns like albian Brockport Medina and Lockport which is home to a fabulous Canal Museum and some of the most interesting engineering works of the day surfaces as varied as the trail itself sometimes paved sometimes packed dirt but always ridable along its length it brings the bicycle tourist to older and interesting cities like Buffalo Syracuse and Albany as well as miles and miles of Upstate New York scenery and most of us love rail Trails for three reasons beautiful scenery interesting history and safe off-road cycling on that score the erri canal delivers in a big big way so that brings us down to the top two the criteria here is pretty challenging for for me to rate a trail this High it has to be incredibly Scenic uh with a lot of variety with a lot of history and you know enough distance so that you feel like you're really going somewhere when you're riding it the Ohio to Erie Trail is all that and more from Cincinnati to Cleveland you Traverse an entire state from a historic river that was key to opening up the American frontier to one of our lovely Great Lakes in the South along the Ohio Valley you feel like you're almost in Dixie with Kentucky just across the river and by the time you reach Cleveland you're smack dab in the heart of the Rust Belt along the way you travel through Columbus and akan as well as numerous smaller towns and through miles and miles of really incredible scenery the individual trails that make up this trail system help make each part feel unique to itself from Cincinnati northward a series of small Trails leads you to the 78m long Little Miami Scenic Trail Trail a trail that's commonly rated as one of the best rail trails in the country just on its own with glimpses of the slow moving River and lovely Trail towns all along its length and a series of other name Trails for the most part link seamlessly with historic and Scenic highlights throughout the Holmes County Trail takes you through the heart of America's largest Amish region you pass through masselon where American football ostensibly got its start and the final leg is on the Ohio and Erie Canal top path Trail a National Historic Park here you'll find lots of wildlife but also old artifacts from the time when Ohio was helping to lead the Industrial Revolution in America thanks to the creation of this very Canal now this 326 M route is still very much in the works with 270 of those currently off-road we found very few issues when we had to connect on roads and we rode through some of the most beautiful scenery of our cross cross country trip along these roads all across the State Ohio has done a great job repurposing its old Rail and Canal systems into trails and the Ohio de Erie Trail is the Crown Jewel so that brings us to number one the great alany passage and the Ceno Canal two different Trails but connected to form one continuous route it gets my vote for the best rail trail in America so what makes this route so excellent well for St ERS it's a long one at 333 Mi making it I believe and correct me if I'm wrong the longest off-road route of its kind in the country mountain bike trails like The Great Divide Trail seem to belong to a different category it also makes a crossing over the Appalachian mountain range giving you a feeling of doing something really special as well as taking you through a diverse range of ecosystems and Landscapes and the history is alive here as well starting in Pittsburgh one of America's major industrial centers known as the Steel City it was once called hell with the lid off due to its plethora of steel mills and thick Smoky air today there are no more steel mills left and the city is now known as the city of bridges there are 446 of them in the city and it's now rehabilitated into a steampunk Paradise as you travel east you pass through one Charming town after another each with its own unique C character in Cumberland you join with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal surveyed by a young George Washington and only completed after his death today the route is lined with old lock houses seven of which you can stay in where the lock Keepers lived the route is full of old artifacts beautiful aqueducts and tunnels and of course old Canal Towns now west of Cumberland on the Gap the trail is all on Old rail beds and the surface while unpaved is excellent excellent but once you're on the CN Canal all bets are off even though it's a national park the trail has not been improved and you are now riding on a dirt mule path it's very ridable unless you happen to catch it after a rain and then it can be a muddy slog the trail drops you off in the middle of Washington DC a fascinating and overall excellent place to finish your ride and there's even a train service between the two end points and Amtrak allows you to roll on your bike along this route making the trip easy for travelers if you haven't ridden this most amazing of American Trails then you need to bump it up on your bucket list the Gap and CNO route is a model for the country to Aspire to full of History scenery and beautiful riding so there you have it folks my top 10 list for America's rail Trails yes choosing was hard honorable mentions include the Elroy Sparta Trail in Wisconsin The Root River Trail in Minnesota both gorgeous trails in an absolutely gorgeous part of the country and also here in Colorado I'd have to give a nod to not only the Rio Grand trail from Aspen to Glenwood Springs but the borus Pass Trail as well even though that allows cars they do go very very slowly and you get to ride over the Continental Divide which is a very cool thing to do I think the Wabash Trace in Iowa is awesome the Delaware and Hudson and Vermont and let's not forget the short but beyond incredible Highline Trail in New York City but you say what about the Paul bunan State trail or the Sue line in Minnesota the Illinois Prairie Path which is considered to be the first rail trail going way back to the 60s or how about the Cardinal Greenway of Indiana the Cal Haven in Michigan or the Raccoon River Valley Trail in Iowa further east what about the Green Brier River Trail or the Virginia Creeper Trail in Virginia the New River Trail that they just just made a national park around in West Virginia and what about other New England Trails how about the Island Rail Trail in the new Lao is that how you pronounce it Trail in Vermont or the Cape Cod rail trail in Massachusetts and what about the south what about the Silver Comet Chief leiga Trail in Georgia and Alabama how about Florida's with Luchi Trail the overseas Heritage Trail which follows the Florida Keys what about them I haven't ridden them that's why they're not on the list and this way I can come back and create another video down the road from all the experiences that we haven't had yet on all these trails and there's so many trails so little time right so let's all look forward to many great cycling experiences to come and also let's just take a moment to appreciate the efforts that so many so many volunteers have given to make these Trails a reality for us bicycle tourists these rail trails are like national parks true gyms each bucket list worthy and each of these took a lot of Blood Sweat and Tears to become a reality great job ra to TRS conservancy and great job to all those who donate their time and emotional Capital doing the hard work and giving us all a beautiful Trail on which to ride if you're interested in getting any more information on any of these rail Trails I've included links in the description and of course if you feel like there's any that I've missed or you want to share your thoughts about what are some of the greatest rail Trails you've ever ridden on go ahead and leave a comment would' love to hear from you oh and if you're interested in our ride across the United States and all the rail trails that we rode on make sure and check them out starting with this one right here and one more time don't forget to subscribe thank you and happy [Music] trials

Channel: Roland & Julianna: Bicycle Tourists

Views: 239,388

Keywords: Bicycle touring, bicycle tourists, bike touring, cycle touring, Top Ten Rail Trails, Rail Trails, Rails to Trails, bicycle paths, bike paths, Route of the Hiawatha, Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, George S. Mickelson Trail, Olympic Discovery Trail, Katy Trail, Rock Island Trail, Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, Northern Rail Trail, Erie Canalway Trail, Ohio to Erie Trail, Great Allegheny Passage, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Trail, C&O Canal, bike trails, bicycle trails

Id: aL5vN6-3R9k

Length: 22min 59sec (1379 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 13 2023