ADT runs through part of the county

Trail systems are becoming more popular every year, and many towns are developing their own trail system. While some trails remain independent, some towns are looking toward the future and beginning work to connect the trails to the American Discovery Trail (ADT).

The ADT is a system of recreational trails and roads which, when completed, will traverse America from coast to coast.

The ADT is already contiguous across the United States, but the goal is to create an off-road trail using existing trails and connector routes between them. It is a trail that will pass through towns, farmlands, and near highways as opposed to a wilderness trail used mainly for hiking.

The ADT is proposed to allow those interested in biking, walking, running, and other recreational activities to move across the states in a safe environment.

The ADT is a non-profit organization and is run by the American Discovery Trail Society, managed by a board of directors. Each state that the trail passes through has a state coordinator, and each county it passes through has a board.

In Montgomery County, the ADT has no signage yet, but the shoulders north of Red Oak on Highway 48 have been extended as part of the trail and continues through Montgomery County into Cass County along the highway.

It goes west on old Highway 34 through Emerson to Hastings, entering Mills County, then south on M16 and west on H48 to Malvern where it joins the Wabash Trace Trail, going through Silver City and Mineola.

The ADT crosses into Nebraska at the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. From Atlantic to Council Bluffs at the state line, the ADT measures 76 miles.

Many counties are continuing to work with Boards of Supervisors and the Iowa Department of Transportation to get the proposed living map of the trail completed. The living map is subject to change due to contracts and paperwork needed to be completed by landowners, but the map offers hard and soft surface trails.

Records show that many people have traveled the entire route from coast to coast.

The ADT passes through 14 national parks and 16 national forests. As part of the experience, people have walked the ADT in order to spend time at some of the national parks and forests.

Although the routes were mapped in 1990, and a grand opening was held in 2000, the ADT is just now becoming more well-known due to the explosion of young adults’ recreational tendencies.

Many are planning vacations around cycling or horseback riding and the ADT offers not only national sites, but local historic and unusual sites for tourists and outdoor enthusiasts.

Visit YouTube to see videos of cyclists who have traveled the ADT and see some of the sights that can be experienced if a trip is made yourself.

Whether it is a weekend getaway or a summer-long excursion like a father and daughter planned, the ADT is close enough to amenities for those who need daily showers, or primitive enough for setting up a tent and enjoying nature.

The Red Oak Express

2012 Commerce Drive
P.O. Box 377
Red Oak, IA 51566
Phone: 712-623-2566 Fax: 712-623-2568

Comment Here