A view from the Ice Age National Scenic Trail in Wisconsin/NPS

The National Park System has grown by three units, as the Ice Age, New England, and North Country national scenic trails have been officially designated parts of the system.

Their additions on Thursday bring to 428 the number of units in the system. They previously had been administered by the National Park Service as part of the National Trails System. 

“The new status for the Ice Age, New England, and North Country national scenic trails will increase public awareness and use of these amazing pathways,” said Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “Their combined 5,500-plus miles travel through parts of 10 states and hundreds of communities, from large cities to rural towns, providing countless close-to-home opportunities for people to easily access green space and enjoy the benefits of outdoor recreation.”    

The long-distance corridors are lined with natural beauty and history, connecting people to lakes, waterfalls, beaches, mountains, old growth forests, and historic structures, the Park Service said in a release. The designation will not result in any immediate changes to the size or structure of the trails, which already have access points, signage, operating budgets, superintendents, staff, and dedicated volunteers. Last year, thousands of volunteers contributed more than 150,000 hours to support trail preservation, maintenance and education projects.     

The trails join three other national scenic trails  —the Appalachian, Natchez Trace, and Potomac Heritage — that are already units of the park system. This action aligns with Congressional, stakeholder, and partner  desires for clear, consistent, and equitable status for all six national scenic trails administered by the National Park Service. There are five additional national scenic trails administered by the U.S. Forest Service.     

• The Ice Age National Scenic Trail  in Wisconsin is nearly 1,200 miles long. It’s landscape of lakes, river valleys, gently rolling hills, and ridges  are reminders that just 15,000 years ago, during the Ice Age, much of North America lay under a huge layer of ice.     
• The New England National Scenic Trail  in Connecticut and Massachusetts stretches 235 miles from the shores of Long Island Sound to scenic mountain summits. It offers panoramic vistas of New England’s natural and cultural landscape, including traprock ridges, historic village centers, farmlands, unfragmented forests, quiet streams, steep river valleys,  and waterfalls.    
• The North Country National Scenic Trail  is expected to be a 4,600-mile continuous path when completed. Traversing sections of Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Wisconsin, it showcases the varied landscapes of the Lake Superior Region, Adirondacks, Ohio River Valley, and North Dakota  plains.     

The 428 units of the National Park System are commonly referred to as “parks” since there are more than 25 different name designations, including national park, national battlefield, national monument, national seashore, national historical site, and national scenic trail. Collectively, the parks cover more than  85 million acres in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.    

Traveler postscript: Here are some stories from the archives on two of these trails:

Glacial Geology On The Ice Age Trail

A Mammoth Walk Along Door County's Ice Age Trail Segment

Classic Fall Hikes: The Ice Age National Scenic Trail

Classic Fall Hikes: New England National Scenic Trail