Trail one step nearer to federal status
The U.S. House of Representatives has brought the Benton MacKaye Trail one step closer to becoming a National Scenic Trail.
“This is exciting news. Getting passed in the House of Representatives is a big step. It’s progress in the right direction,” Benton MacKaye Trail Association (BMTA) President Bob Cowdrick said.
If passed, the Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2026 will allow a two-year-long study to determine whether the trail should be qualified as a National Scenic Trail.
The bill was sponsored by U.S. Representatives Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), and Lucy McBath (D-Ga.).
There’s also a U.S. Senate bill that would shorten the feasibility study to just one year.
It’s too early to know which of the two bills will pass Congress, Cowdrick said.
If Congress passes one of these bills, the Secretary of Agriculture will conduct a feasibility study and submit the results to Congress
Then, Congress can vote again to designate the trail.
There are only 11 National Scenic Trails as of now.
The trail’s journey through Congress has been slow.
At a pace of about 10 miles per day, you could walk the entire Benton MacKaye Trail 14 times in the time it has taken for it to pass through the House of Representatives.
Anyone interested in writing a letter to Congress to encourage the bill’s swift passing can learn how to contact their Congressmen at bmta.org/quest-nst/.
Cowdrick said he hopes that Congress will pass a feasibility study bill sometime in the next six months.
It will take even longer before the trail gets National Scenic Trail status.
If the Benton-MacKaye Trail gets through Congress, it will receive several benefits, Cowdrick said.
National Scenic Trail status will draw in tourism for towns along the trail’s length.
“It would be beneficial for local chambers of commerce, for visibility purposes and for the individuals who hike and recreate,” Cowdrick said. “The economic impact is big.”
The Benton MacKaye Trail will also receive a small amount of federal funding.
But given that the trail is currently maintained on a small budget by the all-volunteer BMTA, the funding doesn’t matter as much as the official recognition, Cowdrick said.
Stretching across multiple states, the trail is one of Appalachia’s highlight attractions.
“My favorite part [of the trail] is the people you meet,” Cowdrick said. “The people are excited about hiking on the trail, visiting some of the scenic overlooks, the waterfalls and some of the trail vistas.”