165,000 Miles of Forest Service Trails, and the Volunteers Who Keep Them Open

The U.S. Forest Service manages about 165,000 miles of trails across the country's national forests. Laid end to end they would circle the globe more than six times, making it the largest trail system in the world. Like the forests themselves, many of the trails serve several uses: they lead to waterfalls, viewpoints and backcountry campsites, and they are places to hike, cycle, ride e-bikes, drive four-by-fours, ride horses, cross-country ski and snowmobile.

Water trails too

When it is too hot for a dusty path, there are wet ones: 74 water trails along 1,290 miles of rivers and streams, usually with boat launches, for canoes, kayaks and paddleboards.

Whitewater rafters on the Chattooga River, Sumter National Forest. Forest Service photo by Preston Keres.

Running a rapid on the Chattooga. Forest Service photo by Preston Keres.

From ten minutes to nine months

Some trails are a tenth of a mile, a ten-minute walk to an overlook or picnic spot. Others run thousands of miles and take people years of training and planning, and as long as nine months, to finish. The Forest Service works with other land agencies on the National Scenic and Historic Trail System, established by Congress in 1968, including:

• the Pacific Crest Trail, 2,653 miles;
• the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, 3,028 miles;
• the Florida Trail, 1,500 miles.

Historic trails through national forests carry stories: the Pony Express route that carried the mail, the Lewis and Clark route of exploration, and the Nez Perce National Historic Trail, which recalls a people forced from their homeland.

A little help from friends

That is a lot of trail for one agency. In the year before this was written, thousands of volunteers helped maintain more than 27,000 miles of trail, over half of all the trail maintenance done. With their donated work and $9 million in grants, trail managers nearly quadrupled the federal investment, from $20 million to $78 million.

Volunteers from the Highland Cycling Club clear trails in Thompson Park, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. Forest Service photo by Preston Keres.

Montana Conservation Corps members clear trails near Wade Lake. Forest Service photo by Preston Keres.

Free to use, good for towns

Most Forest Service trails are free and bring the agency no revenue, but they bring money to nearby communities. The Forest Service estimates that 98 million visitors in 2025 spent about $5 billion in those towns, supporting local businesses.

Riders on a national forest trail. Forest Service photo by Preston Keres.

National Trails Day falls on June 6, but on the national forests, as the Forest Service puts it, every day is trails day, and local forests and grasslands are always looking for help.

Sources

• USDA Forest Service, "165,000 miles of adventure"; rewritten in hubnx's own words. Photos by Preston Keres, Forest Service.