White House names four national
Millennium Trails in Iowa

---

The National Millennium Trails in Iowa include the American Discovery Trail, the Mississippi River Trail, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and the Underground Railroad.

American Discovery Trail
Known as the "Route 66 of American Recreation," the American Discovery Trail (ADT) will offer a little of everything in its proposed 6,356 jaunt from coast-to-coast. "In Iowa alone, the trail contains more than 500 miles of trails on former railroad corridors and includes more than 15 different trails in the state," said Lisa Hein, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation Trails and Greenways Director.

The ADT project was began in 1989 as a partnership between the American Hiking Society and Backpacker Magazine to develop the nation's first coast-to-coast multi-use recreation trail. A National Park Service study reported that more than 10,000 sites of historic, scenic, cultural or national significance have been identified along the trail that spans Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware to Point Reyes National Seashore in California.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) has assisted in several projects on the ADT:

Cedar Valley Nature Trail: runs from Evansdale to Hiawatha
Cedar Valley Lakes Trail: forms network of trails in Waterloo
Pioneer Trail: segments of trail from Holland to Reinbeck
Comet Trail: runs from Conrad past Beaman in Grundy County
Heart of Iowa Nature Trail: segments of trails between Slater and Rhodes
Wabash Trace Nature Trail: runs from Council Bluffs to Shenandoah
T-Bone Trail: located near Atlantic and Audubon

For more information regarding the American Discovery Trail, contact Susan Henley, American Discovery Trail Society: 703/753-0149.

Mississippi River Trail
Following the mighty Mississippi River, the Mississippi River Trail (MRT) spans through seven states from in a route St. Louis to New Orleans and allows people to experience first-hand what writer Mark Twain called the "body of the nation." According to Mark Ackelson, INHF President and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy board chairman, "Plans are underway to extend the MRT from St. Louis through Iowa to Lake Itasca in Minnesota. Some of the trail may be by designated bikeways along the Great River Road or by canoe route, or both. Local communities and landowners will decide if and how the trails will be routed." A variety of landscapes are featured on the route, ranging from forests to cropland to river bluffs that descend into flood plains.

For more information regarding the Mississippi River Trail, contact Ray Bryant, Lower Mississippi River Delta Development Center, Inc.: 901/753-1400.

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Covering more than 3,700 miles of American frontier from Illinois to Oregon, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail commemorates the 1804-06 expedition of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Although no physical trail is present, many historical sites, including the Sgt. Floyd Monument in Sioux City, are offered along the route. Other points of interest along the trail in Iowa include the Lewis and Clark State Park, DeSoto Bend National Wildlife Refuge and areas Lewis and Clark detailed in their journals.

The U.S. Congress established the trail as a component of the National Trails System in 1978.

For more information regarding the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, contact Sammye Meadows, Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation: 406/454-1234

Underground Railroad
Although the name Underground Railroad is somewhat deceiving as it was neither "underground" nor a "railroad," the network of multiple secret routes did serve as a means of transportation for escaped slaves seeking freedom. Due to the secrecy of the events, no physical trails are present.

Iowa is home to many noteworthy stations along the Underground Railroad:

Jordan House in West Des Moines (Polk County)
Lewelling House in Salem (Henry County)
Hitchcock House in Lewis (Cass County)
Todd House in Tabor (Fremont County)

For more information regarding the Underground Railroad, contact Cathy Nelson, Friends of Freedom Society: 614/868/1246.

Sixteen trails were selected nationwide as National Millennium Trails, including the four that cross Iowa. This tribute reinforces Iowa's status as a national trail leader. The trails, which are part of the White House Millennium Council's effort to "honor the past and imagine the future," were announced at the International Trails and Greenways Conference in Pittsburgh on June 26 by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater and the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

For more information about Foundation news, e-mail Cathy Engstrom, Director of Communications, or call (515) 288-1846.