There's not enough historic material or recreation potential to designate a National Historic Trail after Lt. Zebulon Pike, according to the National Park Service/NPS map
There's a lack of historic resources and recreational potential to designate a national trail to honor the western explorations of Zebulon Pike back in 1806-07, the National Park Service has told Congress.
When Congress passed the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Acct back in 2016, it included a request that the Park Service prepare a feasibility study on whether to establish a Pike National Historic Trail.
The route evaluated in the study begins in Fort Bellefontaine, Missouri, and ends in Natchitoches, Louisiana. It spans approximately 2,700 miles, intersecting the states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana. The section of trail that traverses Mexico is not eligible for designation as it falls outside of the United States.
Feasibility studies are congressionally directed and evaluate a site according to three established criteria: 1) be a trail or route established by historic use and must be historically significant because of that use; 2) be of national significance with any of several broad facets of American history, which means that a potential National Historic Trail’s historic use must have had a far-reaching effect on broad patterns of American culture; and 3) have significant potential for public recreational use or historical interest based on historical interpretation and appreciation.
The study found that the proposed Pike National Historic Trail study route is sufficiently known to permit evaluation of the potential for public recreation and historical interest. However, the Park Service has concluded that even though the events that transpired along the proposed historic trail provide historical context for several existing National Historic Trails —including the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, Santa Fe National Historic Trail, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail, and Old Spanish National Historic Trail— the historic use of the proposed Pike National Historic Trail itself does not rise to the level of national significance to satisfy the criteria for National Historic Trail designation.
Finally, the relative lack of surviving historic resources directly related to Pike’s travels, and of compelling interpretive stories, limit the trail’s feasibility, suitability, and desirability. Therefore, the Park Service has concluded that the proposed trail does not have the recreational potential or historic interest to satisfy the National Trails System Act’s criterion.
Historical significance related to Lt. Zebulon Montgomery Pike and the Pike Expedition is currently, or can be, interpreted at multiple Park Service sites and national historic trails, including the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, Santa Fe National Historic Trail, Old Spanish National Historic Trail, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, and El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail, as well as other historic sites managed by others outside of the National Park System, the Park Service said in a release.
The National Park Service welcomes and encourages opportunities to enhance interpretation and education related to the Pike Expedition at these other sites. More information about the Pike National Historic Trail Feasibility Study is available at ParkPlanning - Pike National Historic Trail Feasibility Study (nps.gov).
