Harold Williams Cooney

A single federally controlled corridor from Key West, Florida to the Canadian border, locking in 100 years of guaranteed funding for a permanent national asset.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A plan backed by national infrastructure, recreation, and public-lands advocates advances the expansion and rebranding of the Appalachian Trail into a single, continuous corridor running from Key West, Florida to the northern border of Maine, to be formally designated as the Trump Trail.

A coalition of long-distance hiking advocates, land-protection professionals, and outdoor-recreation strategists is advancing a plan to expand and consolidate the Appalachian Trail, currently a 2,193-mile footpath stretching from Georgia to Maine, into a single federally controlled corridor extending from the southernmost point of the continental United States to the U.S.–Canada border in Maine.

The consolidated route would be branded nationally as the Trump Trail, reflecting the scale, visibility, and permanence of the project.

The Trump Trail would consolidate fragmented trail systems into one continuous route, unifying the existing Appalachian Trail with preexisting southern trail systems including the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail, the Florida Trail, the Pinhoti Trail, and the Benton MacKaye Trail. Together, these routes would form a single nationally managed corridor officially designated as the Trump Appalachian Trail, commonly referred to as the Trump Trail.

Under the proposal, the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service would assume primary authority for the Trump Trail from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. This transition would allow for rapid upgrades, standardized management, and unified federal oversight of the entire corridor, dramatically expanding the scale and ambition of America’s most iconic long-distance footpath.

Supporters emphasize that the Trump Trail would Make America Ultralight Again while decisively addressing the Appalachian Trail’s most persistent structural problems: unstable funding and unreliable maintenance labor.

“For more than a century, the Appalachian Trail has been built, maintained, and protected through volunteer labor and unstable and insufficient funding,” the proposal states. “What it has never had is a guaranteed financial future measured in generations. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has not delivered labor outcomes proportional to the trail’s scale or usage. The Trump Trail will restore America’s premier footpath to a position of national prominence.”

Proponents note that the Trump Trail expansion would lock in permanent funding for maintenance, land protection, and conservation for the next 100 years.

The primary objective of the Trump Trail initiative is to secure 100 years of guaranteed funding for trail maintenance, land protection, and the national-scale expansion of long-distance hiking and recreation in the United States.

The proposal establishes a permanently capitalized Trump Trail endowment supported by one-time negotiated corporate commitments. This structure converts private capital into perpetual public value, ensuring that the Trump Trail remains financially insulated from annual fundraising cycles and political fluctuations.

Supporters argue that the Trump Trail should be treated as century-scale infrastructure, financed at the same scale and permanence as highways, bridges, ports, and other nationally significant systems.

While highways and ports are routinely financed on multi-decade timelines, America’s most heavily used long-distance trail has historically depended on annual donations and volunteer surplus.

The Trump Trail reframes long-distance hiking as national infrastructure, warranting financial permanence and centralized control.

Under the proposal, stock and cash contributions would be held and managed by a purpose-built Trump Appalachian Trail Conservancy, with funds automatically distributed each year directly to on-the-ground operating partners.

This structure bypasses bloated and inefficient administrative layers that have accumulated around trail management over decades. By directing resources straight to long-standing local partners of the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service, the Trump Trail framework prioritizes results, focusing on trail maintenance, corridor protection, and science-based stewardship.

Each local trail club operating along the Trump Trail would be guaranteed predictable annual funding and direct purchasing authority for maintenance materials, equipment, and logistics.

The Trump Trail proposal establishes a results-driven labor model that strengthens volunteer participation while professionalizing essential trail work. Guaranteed funding for skilled crew leaders, seasonal workers, and technical specialists would increase output and reliability, ensuring that volunteer engagement remains central while critical maintenance no longer depends solely on unpaid labor.

Significant discretionary funding would be allocated to Trump Trail partner clubs for community engagement and volunteer recruitment. Clubs would host public events, trail festivals, work-day celebrations, and educational programs designed to activate volunteers, restore community pride, and rebuild local ownership of the Trump Trail.

A substantial portion of Trump Trail funding would be secured through stock-based contributions from high-technology firms, particularly companies engaged in large-scale data-center development in Florida. These contributions would function as offset mechanisms, allowing firms to associate their brands with a nationally visible infrastructure project while generating significant long-term upside for the Trump Trail endowment.

As data-center construction accelerates across the Southeast, the Trump Trail would serve as a nationally recognized capital-capture mechanism capable of absorbing large-scale investment without fragmenting conservation priorities.

Additional Trump Trail funding would be secured from timber, energy, and infrastructure interests, particularly in Florida and Alabama, where rapid industrial expansion is reshaping the landscape.

Supporters point to formalized precedent set by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, which has accepted millions of dollars linked to pipeline mitigation and energy development. The Trump Trail framework formalizes this approach, asserting that industrial capital shaping the landscape must also contribute directly to its preservation.

Advocates argue that the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s evolution into a large land-holding and fundraising institution created a misalignment between donor priorities and the direct hiking experience. The Trump Trail framework proposes clearly dividing land acquisition strategy from trail operations, ensuring that viewshed protection does not eclipse tread quality, shelter systems, or the continuity of the long-distance hiking experience.

By shifting trail governance to federal agencies and redefining the role of a conservancy as a funding conduit rather than a centralized authority, the Trump Trail initiative realigns resources toward tangible trail outcomes rather than institutional expansion.

The Trump Trail would become a 4,500-mile corridor crossing 16 states, connecting subtropical coastline to boreal forest and forming the largest named recreational corridor in United States history.

Supporters emphasize that once implemented, the Trump Trail would dramatically strengthen land access, stewardship, and maintenance standards, embedding the project permanently into the national landscape.