Introduction - Tourism and Trails: Cultural, Ecological and Management Issues - page 11

Further along the continuum are footpaths that lead from one attraction
to another or one site to another within larger areas, such as national parks
or historic villages. This also includes short nature trails, which visitors can
follow into a rainforest, a dune, or short distances from a campground in the
mountains. Such trails might be less than one kilometer long to a few kilo-
meters long and are found abundantly all over the world. Usually these are
limited to foot and bicycle traffic, although in some areas they might allow
horses as well.
Larger in scope are extensive urban themed trails or tour circuits that link
historic sites, buildings and locations associated with an important period of
time, a famous person, an architectural style or a significant event (Goodey,
1975; Timothy, 2014). The 'Gaudi Trail', better known as the 'Modernist
Walking Tour' of Barcelona, Spain, links the modernist architectural achieve-
ments of Antoni Gaudi that have helped to make the city one of the most
visible cultural centers of Europe (Usón, 2002). The New Amsterdam Trail
in downtown Manhattan highlights the original locations of buildings and
sites during the 17th-century Dutch colonial period of New York City (US
National Park Service, 2009). Many of these trails can be traversed on an
individual basis, or guided tours can be purchased or otherwise arranged. The
US National Park Service provides an audio tour free to download onto
mobile recording devices, while many of Barcelona's visitors hire a city guide
to pilot them through the architectural landscape of the city.
Regional and national trails tend to be large in scale, or long in length, but
their actual sizes vary from country to country, and depending upon what
they commemorate. What they all have in common, however, is significant
size in relation to national territory, and they have cultural, historical or
natural significance for the region or nation. Many such routes can only truly
be followed by car owing to their length. These are common in Australia and
North America, where many long-distance national trails parallel major high-
ways, and distances are vast. In Australia, Northern Queensland's Taste of
the Tropics Food Trail and the Southern Heritage Drive are good examples of
regional trails that focus on agriculture and culinary heritage (Australian
Tropical Foods, n.d.; Cairns City Council, n.d.). Many shorter national trails
are footpaths where only hiking and rambling are allowed, despite their
lengths. Owing to its large size, the US is home to several important long-
distance trails that have been officially designated National Historic Trails,
National Scenic Trails or National Recreation Trails (Chavez et al. , 1999;
Elkinton & Maglienti, 1994). It should be noted, however, that there are sev-
eral shorter trails in the US that have the same designations owing to their
national significance. The California National Historic Trail is the longest in
the US trails system (9117 km) and traverses 10 states from The Midwest to
the west coast. It is an emigrant trail that commemorates the westward
movement of Europeans and the settlement of the west. The Appalachian
Trail is one of the world's longest nature trails (3500 km) and one of the most