Blog
Make the connection – the National Trails System
I am Alex Stigliano, Program Director for the Florida Trail Association. I devoted a decade of my career to teaching outdoor leadership skills to students of all ages because I believe it is the perfect classroom. People see themselves, each other, and their world most…
Find America’s Trails – Out There!
At 13, I was the smallest boy in my class. “Hey, Shrimp!” was a refrain often heard. On a 50-mile backpacking trip, my 80-pound body wrestled with a 35-pound pack. But “out there,” I found scenes more beautiful than pictures on a museum wall. Out…
Experience the heart of history on America’s national trails
I am Margaret Gorski, a volunteer leader with the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. In 1991, I was a U.S. Forest Service employee sitting in a circle of Nez Perce elders high in the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho. I looked across a vast jumble of tree…
Explore. Dream. Discover – the National Trails System is here for you!
I’m Gary Werner, the Executive Director of the Partnership for the National Trails System (PNTS). Our organization advocates for the 30 amazing trails that together create an American legacy, the National Trails System. As a child, I walked with my parents across the glacial terrain…
Find Adventure on America’s Trails—Become a Supporter Today
Anish on the Continental Divide Trail. Photo Credit: Heather Anderson I am Heather Anderson, a 2019 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. I am also Anishinaabe, and I am known as Anish on the trails. I have hiked and run 30,000 miles on our national…
NTS Webmapping Application: A foundation for National Trails System Geographic Information Systems
By: Peter Bonsall, Geographer – GIS Specialist, and Matt Robinson, GIS Specialist, National Park Service and Appalachian National Scenic Trail, respectively A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a powerful tool that allows users to view a variety of geographic data, perform spatial analysis, and conduct locational…
Trail Apprentice Spotlight: Lauren Murray
By: Partnership for the National Trails System, adapted from former Trail Apprentice submissions It’s been 10 years since the Partnership for the National Trails System first offered Trail Apprentice (TA) scholarships, funded by multiple Federal agencies, to young adults. We caught up with some members…
The future of the National Trails System faces fundamental challenges
By Gary Werner, Executive Director, Partnership for the National Trails System In 2018 as we began our year-long commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the National Trails System Act, I briefly described these fundamental challenges that we in the National Trails System community face to fully…
Adventures from ‘Get Off the Web and Into the Wild’
During National Park Week, April 20-28, 2019, the Partnership for the National Trails System encouraged people to take a break from social media and explore the outdoors instead. Those who joined PNTS in the pledge to “get off the web and into the wild” substituted…
Get Off The Web And Into The Wild
Did you know that national scenic and historic trails connect and travel through over 80 national parks? The Partnership for the National Trails System (PNTS) encourages people to take a break from social media during National Park Week, April 20-28, 2019, as a way to…
