Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail

In November 2000 President Bill Clinton signed into law S. 700, the "Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail Act." Ultimately, the "Ala Kahakai" (Trail by the Sea) will be a continuous walking path, extending along the coastline of Hawaii for approximately 175 miles. As much as possible the Ala Kahakai route will follow ancient and historic Hawaiian paths that are known to have existed in the past. It will also use, in ways that are acceptable to the Hawaiian people, those ancient and historic paths that still exist today, having survived centuries of changes: natural changes due to lava flows, floods and high surf and man-induced changes such as golf course, resort and other urban developments, and in a few places, conversion of traditional foot-trail routes into horse and cart trails, jeep roads and macadamized roads.

California National Historic Trail

Following the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in California, the 1849 gold rush followed many paths. Starting at several points along the Missouri River, gold seekers converged on the Great Platte River Road, overlapping with Oregon and Mormon emigrants, until they had crossed the crest of the Rockies. From there a variety of routes - determined by the availability of water and grass, the knowledge of guides, or the presence of Indians - were used to get to and cross various passes through the Sierra Nevada mountains. Over 70,000 crossed to California in 1849 and 1850 alone. Recent Oregon settlers used the newly opened Applegate Trail to come south into the California mountains. Today the Trail's comprehensive management plan is being completed to outline auto tour routes, public land management policies, interpretive themes, and public-private partnerships essential to commemorating this important chapter in opening the American West.

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail

American Indians, and particularly the Pueblo Indians of the Rio Grande, established routes for trade and communications long before the arrival of the Europeans. One of these trade routes would later become the route of El Camino Real. The historical period of significance for El Camino Real in the United States extends from 1598 to 1882. The royal road ran from capital to capital - Mexico City, Mexico to San Juan Pueblo (and later Santa Fe), New Mexico. 1200 miles of this 1600 mile-long road are in Mexico.

Iditarod National Historic Trail

The Iditarod is a system of historic trails made famous by Alaska gold prospectors and their dog teams during the late 19th and early 20th century gold rush. Most of the trail is usable only during Alaska's six-month winter when rivers and tundra are frozen. Each year the renowned 1,150-mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race is run along the trail from Anchorage to Nome. Other events include the 210-mile Iditasport race for skiers, mountain bikers, and snowshoers, and the Alaska Gold Rush Classic Snowmachine Race. The Bureau of Land Management and the Iditarod Trail Committee are installing a network of shelters.

Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail

In 1775, a party of Spanish colonists led by Col. Juan Bautista de Anza set out from Mexico to establish an overland route to California. They sought to build a presidio and mission overlooking the Golden Gate and secure it from threats by the Russians and British. This party of 30 families, a dozen soldiers, and 1,000 cattle, horses, and mules spent three months traversing the deserts of the Southwest before reaching the missions of the California coast. Another three months were spent traveling up the Pacific coast to the Golden Gate where the city of San Francisco now stands. In 1975 and 1976, an expedition re-enactment took place from Horcasitas, Mexico, to San Francisco.

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory and the "Oregon Country." Setting out in boats from what is today Wood River, Illinois, and following the Missouri River upstream, their expedition eventually reached the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River in 1805 and returned east the next year. In Idaho and western Montana, the route follows roads and trails as it crosses the Rocky Mountain passes. Along the route, state, local, and private interests have established motor routes, roadside interpretive markers, and museum exhibits telling the Lewis and Clark story.

Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail

Mormon emigration was one of the principal forces of settlement of the West. Departing form Nauvoo, Illinois, in February 1846, thousands of Mormons crossed into Iowa seeking refuge from religious persecution. They spent the next winter in the Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska, area. Early in 1847, Brigham Young led an advance party west along the Platte River, paralleling the Oregon Trail, to Fort Bridger, Wyoming, where they turned southwest and eventually came to the Great Salt Lake. The 1,624-mile auto tour route in five states is generally marked with the trail logo and closely follows the trail's historic route.

Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail

This trail route honors the heroic and poignant attempt by the Nez Perce Indians to escape capture by the U.S. Army. In 1877, the Nez Perce were forced to leave their ancestral homelands and move to a reservation east of Lewiston, Idaho. During this journey, hostilities broke out between white settlers and some groups of the Nez Perce. The U.S. Army was called in. The resisting bands headed east, crossed the Rocky Mountains, and hoped to find refuge in Canada. Led by several commanders including Chief Joseph, they eluded capture for months, traveling through the newly established Yellowstone National Park and out onto the Great Plains. Just short of reaching the Canadian border in Montana, most of the party were overtaken near the Bearpaw Mountains.

Oregon National Historic Trail

As the harbinger of America's westward expansion, the Oregon Trail was the pathway to the Pacific for fur traders, gold seekers, missionaries, and emigrants. Beginning in 1841 and enduring for more than 20 years, an estimated 300,000 emigrants followed this route from the Midwest to Oregon on a trip that took five months to complete. Today the trail corridor contains some 300 miles of discernible wagon ruts and 125 historic sites. The approximate route can still be followed by automobile, and opportunities are available to travel by foot, horse, or mountain bike in many places.

Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail

In the fall of 1780, upcountry patriots from Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina formed a militia to drive the British from the southern colonies. This trail marks their 14-day trek across the Appalachians to the Piedmont region of the Carolinas. There they defeated British troops at the Battle of Kings Mountain, setting in motion events that led to the British surrender at Yorktown and the end of the Revolutionary War. Each year history buffs commemorate this patriotic event. Much of the trail has become road and highway; only a small 20-mile portion remains as a foot trail across the mountains. In most places roadside signs indicate proximity to the trail. A guide to the seven walking sections of the trail is available.

Pony Express National Historic Trail

Begun in 1860 as a vital mail route connecting the eastern United States to California, this privately financed operation only lasted 18 months before it was supplanted by telegraph. Dozens of wiry riders and hundreds of horses conducted the relay of mail through desert and plain, mountains and storm around the clock to get the mail through. Average travel time from St. Joe, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, was 10 days. Nearly 35,000 pieces of mail were transported, some containing the momentous news of Lincoln's election and the outbreak of the Civil War. The transcontinental railroad followed much of its route in later years. Today highways sign marks many portions of the route and reenactment rides - complete with souvenir mail - take place every year.

Santa Fe National Historic Trail

After Mexican independence in 1821, U.S. and Mexican traders developed the Santa Fe Trail, using American Indian travel and trade routes. It quickly became a commercial and cultural link between the two countries. It also became a road of conquest during the Mexican and Civil wars. With the building of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880, the trail was largely abandoned. Of the 1,203 miles of trail route between Old Franklin, Missouri, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, more than 200 miles of ruts and trace remain visible; some 30 miles of these are protected on federal lands.

Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail

In an effort to dramatize the need for voting rights legislation, a peaceful non-violent march from Selma to Montgomery was planned. On March 7, 1965 the march set out from Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, Alabama. Once the marchers reached the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were brutally beaten by law enforcement officers. The event was televised all across the nation. Two days later, Dr. King led a second march from Brown Chapel towards Montgomery; this march was peacefully turned around at the point of confrontation. On March 21, 1965 a third march under the protection of the National Guard began at Brown Chapel once again and successfully made its way to the State Capital in Montgomery in five days, after walking 54 miles. This monumental event captured by news media brought the struggle of voting rights of African Americans to the forefront of this nation's conscious. As a result, Congress rushed to enact legislation that would guarantee voting rights for all Americans. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965.

Trail of Tears National Historic Trail

After many years of pressure from white settlers, 16,000 Cherokee Indians from the southeastern states were moved by the U.S. Army in the late 1830s to lands west of the Mississippi River. Various detachments followed different routes west to the Oklahoma Territory. Thousands died along the way. Today, the designated trail follows two of the principal routes: a water trail (1,226 miles) along the Tennessee, Ohio, Mississippi, and Arkansas rivers; and an overland route (826 miles) from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Tahlequah, Oklahoma.