American Discovery Trail

American Discovery Trail
The American Discovery Trail, including its northern and southern routes.
Length	6800 mi (10944 km)
Location	United States
Trailheads	Cape Henlopen, Delaware; Limantour Beach, California
Use	Hiking, Horseback Riding, Mountain Biking
Elevation
Highest point	Argentine Pass, 13,207 ft (4,025 m)
Lowest point	California Delta between Isleton and Antioch, −17 ft (−5.2 m)
Hiking details
Trail difficulty	Easy to Strenuous
Season	All year
Sights	National Parks, National Forests
Hazards	Severe Weather

The American Discovery Trail is a system of recreational trails and roads which collectively form a coast-to-coast hiking and biking trail across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. It starts on the Delmarva Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and ends on the northern California coast on the Pacific Ocean. The trail has northern and southern alternates for part of its distance, passing through Chicago and St Louis respectively. The total length of the trail including both the north and south routes is 6,800 miles (10,900 km). The northern route covers 4,834 miles (7,780 km) with the southern route covering 5,057 miles (8,138 km). It is the only non-motorized coast-to-coast trail.

The trail passes through 14 national parks and 16 national forests and uses sections of or connects to five National Scenic Trails, 10 National Historic Trails, and 23 National Recreation Trails. For part of its distance, it is coincident with the North Country Trail and the Buckeye Trail.

The trail passes through the District of Columbia and the following 15 states:

Joyce and Pete Cottrell, of Whitefield, New Hampshire, were the first to backpack the entire official route of the American Discovery Trail. They hiked the segments out of sequence over two calendar years, finishing in 2003.

The first hikers to complete the trail in one continuous walk were Marcia and Ken Powers, a wife and husband team from Pleasanton, California. Their trailwalk lasted from February 27 to October 15, 2005. They started out from Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware and ended at Point Reyes, California. They trailed 5,058 miles (8,140 km) by foot, averaging 22 miles (35 km) a day.