Razorback Greenway designated national recreation trail

The Razorback Greenway is a national recreation trail, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced Friday.

The greenway was one of nine trails added to the National Trails System, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of the Interior. The announcement came in celebration of Great Outdoors Month and National Trails Day, which is today.

The newly designated trails join a network of more than 1,300 existing national recreation trails, which can be found in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to the release.

The Razorback Greenway, the release states, is considered by many the “backbone of Northwest Arkansas.” It is a 40-mile shared use trail that connects several cities throughout the region.

“The trail provides access for users of all types to recreate and connect to local business, entertainment districts, world-class art museums, and beautiful scenery of the Ozark Mountains,” the release states.

National recreation trails are existing local or regional trails that are designated by either the secretary of the interior or the secretary of agriculture with the consent of the federal, state, tribal, local, nonprofit or private managing entity. These trails are jointly coordinated and administered by the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service, in conjunction with a number of federal and nonprofit partners, according to the release.

“National recreation trails, including these new designations, are some of our country’s highest caliber trails and provide close-to-home recreation opportunities and the benefits of spending time outdoors,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “They can be used by everyone and provide for the ever-increasing recreation needs of our growing population, especially in urban areas.”

Each of the newly designated national recreation trails will receive a certificate of designation, a set of trail markers and a letter of recognition. Other trails that received the designation this week include: Vernon Bush Garden Trail, Alabama; Harris Greenway Trail, Georgia; Fabulous Fox! Water Trail, Illinois and Wisconsin; Crown Zellerbach Trail, Oregon; Enterprise South Nature Park, Tennessee; Wilson Creek Trail, Texas; Iron Hills Trail System, Utah; and Old Highway 131 Trail, Wisconsin.