Landscape Lines 15: Historic Trails
Coffin Brown M. Landscape Lines 15: Historic Trails. Cultural Landscape Guidance Documents. Landscape Lines 15. NPS Park Cultural Landscapes Program. Washington, D.C.
A guide to Historic Trails; part of the Landscape Lines series from the Park Cultural Landscapes Program. Trails take us through places of history and nature. They lead through rugged terrain, places of contemplation, and cultural sites. Many contemporary trails once served as utilitarian routes for hunting, migration, communication, and trade. Trail systems were created by individuals, organizations, and governments, and trails vary in length, purpose, and physical characteristics. A trail’s route, construction, and characteristics can embody a significant aspect of American history and make it eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Effectively managing these trails requires an understanding of their historic context, design concepts, and construction method. In this publication, the term “historic trail” refers to a route that is managed for interpretive or recreational purposes and is limited to pedestrian or non-vehicular travel. The guidance document describes an approach to treatment and management of historic trails that balances historic considerations with contemporary concerns. Based on the methodology of the Cultural Landscape Report (CLR), this describes the process of historical research, existing conditions documentation, and analysis and evaluation for historic trails with an emphasis on developing historically informed treatment recommendations. It provides an overview of federal guidelines related to historic trails and is supplemented with case studies from historic trail treatment projects. The document focuses on treatment of the trail prism, which incorporates the trail tread, associated features, and the associated corridor leading through the landscape.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Coffin Brown, Margie
- Publisher
- NPS Park Cultural Landscapes Program
- Units
- CRPS
- Keywords
- accessibility, Appalachian Trail, CRSS, Footpath, Hiking, Hiking Club, Interpretation, Migration routes, National Register, path, Planning, Primitive Trail, Recreation, Route, Scenic Trail, trail construction, Trail Corridor, Trail Management, Trail Prism, trail system, Tread, Vernacular Trail