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The New York-New Jersey-Connecticut region is both densely populated and rich in natural and recreational resources. From the forested open spaces of the Catskills, Highlands and Pinelands to the sandy shores of New Jersey and Long Island, the region includes hundreds of iconic parks and landscapes, but they are largely fragmented from each other and not well connected to the population centers that would use them. While thousands of miles of trails wind through our region, they are largely disconnected from each other. The trails provide recreational opportunities within the region’s preserves and parks but fail to facilitate greater connections between this natural beauty and the communities where most people live.

As a result, getting to these open spaces usually means taking a car, which adds to the greenhouse gases that are warming the planet and limits access to nature for too many residents. The state of our fragmented natural region perpetuates inequities and diminishes the quality of life and health benefits that come from recreation and access to open space. At the same time, communities on the edge of parks and open spaces are losing out on the economic opportunities of tourism that greater access would provide. And our region’s tremendous natural and recreational value is largely overlooked, resulting in lost opportunities for stewardship and threatened support for open space protection. Finally, natural pathways that facilitate wildlife migration between open spaces, unimpeded by high-speed roadways and development are critically important in this era when climate change will alter habitats and threaten biodiversity.

The tri-state metropolitan region is already home to a number of clusters and arteries of trails of local, regional, and national importance. The Appalachian Trail takes hikers from Georgia through our region to Maine, while the East Coast Greenway uses our region’s rights of way to connect cyclists and those on foot to the southernmost and northernmost points along the eastern seaboard. Smaller systems of hiking trails within parks and preserves, from the Pine Barrens to the New Jersey Highlands to the eastern Catskills, allow for on-foot exploration of some of the region’s richest natural landscapes. Other stretches like the Croton Aqueduct Trail, the Long Island Greenbelt Trail, and the Saddle River Bike Path allow for local connections between adjacent municipalities.

RPA proposes the development of an integrated regional network of nearly 1,650 miles of biking, hiking and walking trails, connecting people and open spaces.

Connecting the region’s precious open spaces together and to our communities via a network of trails would catalyze economic development, and boost recreational opportunities, improving health and quality of life while enhancing the biodiversity of our natural systems. This vision is in keeping with other ambitious regional networks that RPA has included in previous plans and successfully advocated for over our history, from the parkway and transit systems to the concept of a regional Greensward.