Complete List of all National Historic Trails

Here is the complete list, arranged chronologically by designation. You can click on each trail to go the the NPS or BLM website specific for each trail.

#	National Historic Trail	Designated	Short description
1	Oregon National Historic Trail	1978	Follows the 2,000-plus-mile emigrant route from Missouri to Oregon used by hundreds of thousands of settlers in the 1840s–1860s.
2	Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail	1978	Commemorates the route followed by Mormon emigrants from Nauvoo, Illinois, to the Great Salt Lake Valley in Utah beginning in 1846.
3	Iditarod National Historic Trail	1978	Follows the historic network of trails across Alaska connecting Seward, Nome, and numerous Interior Alaska communities; associated with Native trade, mining, mail delivery, and the famous Iditarod route.
4	Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail	1978	Follows the route of the Corps of Discovery Expedition of 1804–1806 from the vicinity of St. Louis to the Pacific Coast and back.
5	Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail	1980	Commemorates the route of the American militia who crossed the southern Appalachians in 1780 and defeated British forces at the Battle of Kings Mountain.
6	Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail	1986	Follows the 1877 flight of the Nez Perce from their homeland toward Canada while attempting to avoid forced removal to a reservation.
7	Trail of Tears National Historic Trail	1987	Commemorates the forced removal of the Cherokee and other southeastern tribes to Indian Territory during the 1830s.
8	Santa Fe National Historic Trail	1987	Follows the 19th-century commercial and military route connecting Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico.
9	Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail	1990	Follows the 1775–1776 expedition led by Juan Bautista de Anza from Mexico to San Francisco, which helped establish Spanish settlement in Alta California.
10	California National Historic Trail	1992	Commemorates the routes taken by emigrants traveling west to California during the great migration of the 1840s and 1850s, including routes associated with the California Gold Rush.
11	Pony Express National Historic Trail	1992	Follows the route of the short-lived Pony Express mail service between Missouri and California in 1860–1861.
12	Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail	1996	Commemorates the 1965 voting-rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, that helped lead to passage of the Voting Rights Act.
13	El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail	2000	Follows the historic Spanish colonial road between Mexico City and northern New Mexico, used for trade, settlement, missionary activity, and military travel.
14	Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail	2000	Follows an ancient network of coastal trails around Hawaiʻi Island, connecting traditional Hawaiian communities, cultural sites, and resources.
15	Old Spanish National Historic Trail	2002	Commemorates the 19th-century trade route between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Los Angeles, California, used by traders and pack trains.
16	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail	2004	Follows the Spanish colonial road system through eastern Texas and western Louisiana, linking missions, settlements, and military posts.
17	Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail	2006	Follows the waterways explored by Captain John Smith during his 1608 voyages through the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
18	Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail	2008	Commemorates the people, places, and routes associated with the War of 1812 and the events that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the national anthem.
19	Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail	2009	Follows the 1781 route taken by American and French forces under George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau during the Yorktown campaign.
20	Chilkoot National Historic Trail	2022	Preserves the Alaska portion of the historic Chilkoot route, a Tlingit trading route that became a major gateway for stampeders heading to the Klondike Gold Rush.
21	Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail	2023	Follows the approximately 3,292-mile route of the Butterfield Overland Mail Company, which carried mail and passengers between St. Louis/Memphis and San Francisco from 1858 to 1861.

Share with