National Park Service Trails National Park Service Trails Americans are seeking trail opportunities as never before to participate in a wide range of activities. From walking to bicycling, horseback riding to snowmobiling, mountain biking to backpacking, cross country skiing to jogging, canoeing to retracing historical travel routes, trails are used by all types of people in settings ranging from urban, suburban, and rural to wilderness. Trails provide benefits more than just recreation.
Trails promote maintenance of physical and mental health.
They offer opportunities to socialize with friends and family, or to experience solitude. Trails are natural buffers that help preserve local plant and animal life, provide outdoor educational classrooms, and separate different land uses such as commercial and residential areas. Natural trail corridors preserve trees and vegetation that refresh the air and filter and cleanse runoff water flowing into rivers and streams. Bicycle and pedestrian commuting on trails decreases road congestion and air pollution caused by automobiles. Trails provide economic benefits to communities and help to create a sense of place in the landscape.