Midwest

Southeast Trails

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The southeast includes some of our oldest and most scenic trails, and the Florida NST, Natchez Trace NST and the Selma to Montgomery NHT are unique to the Southeast. Both Appalachian and Natchez Trace scenic trails are individual park units. Here’s a quick summary in case you are interested in exploring the trails in the region.

National Historic Trails

  • Lewis & Clark 1804-1806, runs along northern Kentucky, and they did some fossil hunting for Jefferson at Big Bone Lick.
  • Overmountain Victory celebrates the trail crossed by Patriots in 1780 to turn the war.
  • Selma to Montgomery has several fine exhibits at both ends and at a few stops along the way. Highly recommended.
  • Trail of Tears ~1830 to ~1850, Native Americans from all across the region were forcibly removed on this trail that crosses through most states in the region. There are numerous sites along the trail, including Little River Canyon.

National Scenic Trails

Best of the Midwest

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Best Park: Isle Royale. Wildlife, wilderness, multi-day hiking, boating, camping, forests, mountains, waters. Isle Royale, above, is the best Midwest park in many categories, despite being the least visited national park in the lower 48.

Best State: Missouri. Under-appreciated Missouri has Ozark Scenic Riverways, a karst-cavern, spring-fed paddling, sparkling gem, and Ste. Geneviève, a cultural midwestern marvel, not to mention Gateway Arch and more.

The Midwest specializes in history, exemplified by these best-in-class parks.

Best Bicycling: Cuyahoga Valley.

Best Heritage Area: Freedom’s Frontier.

Best Museum(s): Dayton Aviation.

Best Native American Site: Pipestone.

Best Place to Lose Yourself in Nature: Voyageurs. (Get a boat-in campsite.)

Best Ranger: Nicodemus. She’s part of the living heritage.

Best Scenery: Pictured Rocks.

Best Trail: Learn About all the Pioneer Trails at Scotts Bluff.

Best World Heritage Site: Taliesin.

Most Tragic Folk Song: Keweenaw.

Read more about all parks in the Midwest region.

Midwest Trails

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10 trails cross the Midwest region, including 8 National Historic Trails linking multiple sites, plus the Ice Age and North Country National Scenic Trails which are individual park units. Only the Ice Age NST is unique to the Midwest, while the other trails continue on into other regions. Here’s a quick summary in case you are interested in exploring the trails in the region.

  • Ice Age NST formed when 100,000 year old ice melted 11,000 years ago, lovely winding trails over hills and dells in Wisconsin.
  • Santa Fe NHT used from prehistory to present by natives, Spanish, cavalry, settlers, BNSF, Route 66 and now I-55, 44, 40, 15 and 10. I like the Mahaffie stop in Kansas above.
    • “Well it winds from Chicago to L.A,
      More than 2000 miles all the way”      —Bobby Troup
  • Lewis & Clark NHT 1804-1806, Seaman joined Lewis in Ohio, Clark & York joined in Indiana, they entered the Purchase from Illinois, see replicas at the boat museum in Missouri, a Kanza earth-lodge in Kansas, many sites along the Missouri River in Nebraska, and memorials of the only expedition fatality, Sgt. Floyd, in Iowa.
  • Trail of Tears NHT ~1830 to ~1850, part passed through southern Illinois and Missouri, where the Trail of Tears State Park overlooks the Mississippi.
  • The Pioneer Trails, Independence Missouri has a Frontier Trails Museum, Scotts Bluff and Chimney Rock in Nebraska are scenic.
    • Oregon NHT 1836-1869, from western Missouri, through Kansas & Nebraska.
    • California NHT 1841 to 1869, same midwestern route as above.
    • Mormon Pioneer NHT 1846-1847, from western Illinois, through Iowa & Nebraska.
  • Stage & Mail Trails, follow the link for some recommended stops.
    • Butterfield Overland NHT 1857-1861, only a small portion is in Missouri.
    • Pony Express NHT 1860-1861, follows the pioneer trails through Kansas & Nebraska.
  • North Country NST, established in 1980 and designated a unit in 2023, is still a bit disjointed, but in the region, it runs from Fort Miamis in Ohio, up through Michigan, along the cliffs through Pictured Rocks NL below, across Wisconsin, and from Grand Portage NM through Minnesota.

Southwest Trails

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7 trails cross the Southwest region, including 6 National Historic Trails linking multiple sites, plus a National Scenic Trail. Here’s a quick summary in case you are interested in exploring the trails in the region.

  • Butterfield Overland NHT passed through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico (although the photo below is near a stop across the Arizona border in Tombstone).
  • Continental Divide NST crosses through New Mexico from Taos past the Gila Cliff Dwellings.
  • Four Old Spanish trails cross through the region.
    • El Camino Real de Los Tejas from Laredo Texas to Louisiana.
    • El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro from El Paso to Santa Fe.
    • The Santa Fe NHT from Santa Fe (Fort Union above) through Oklahoma to St Louis.
    • And the Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe to LA.
  • Trail of Tears NHT passes through Arkansas on the way to Oklahoma.

Illinois in Photos

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The Prairie State is home to 2 new parks, New Philadelphia NHS and Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM, as well as Pullman NHP and Lincoln Home NHS, all shown above. Part of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley NM is in Illinois, though public access to the church is limited. Several national trails also pass through the southern tip of the state, including Lewis & Clark, Mormon Pioneer, and the Trail of Tears. There are also NPS related sites, Bronzeville NHA, Chicago Portage and the IL & MI Canal NHA, as well as—below—the WHS Cahokia Mounds and three Frank Lloyd Wright designs: Oak Park, Robie and Unity Temple. Enjoy!

All Parks in the Midwest, Zero Carbon

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I recently completed EV visits to all 47 park units in the 10 states of the Midwest region, as well as 5 affiliated sites, 8 heritage areas, trails and biospheres. The region also has Cahokia Mounds, Hopewell Culture and 4 Frank Lloyd Wright world heritage sites.

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

  • Effigy Mounds: ancient burial grounds on the beautiful bluffs of the upper Mississippi
  • Herbert Hoover: Quaker village origins and presidential library

Kansas

  • Brown v. Board: learn about the case against structurally unequal education
  • Fort Larned: well-preserved fort on the Santa Fe Trail during westward expansion
  • Fort Scott: site of a Bleeding Kansas event, Civil War recruiting & logistics and more
  • Nicodemus: still thriving African American pioneer town
  • Tallgrass Prairie: preserves a trace of the once vast ecosystem

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Nebraska

Ohio

Wisconsin