Abandoned Highways as official trails

[Max Rockatansky]

The above topic regarding abandoned roadways being converted into actual trails came up on RoadwayWiz's live chat on YouTube last night.  Probably the most famous example of this would be the Old PA Turnpike being used as a multi-use recreation trail.  Some others that come to mind as officially designated trails that I come across include:

-  Segments of former FL 4A in the Florida Keys.  Some segments have been reused as part of the Florida Keys multi-use recreation/bike path whereas others like Boca Chica Key are straight hiking trails. 
-  Numerous segments of the Old Coulterville Road, Old Big Oak Flat Road, and Wawona Road in Yosemite National Park are now hiking trails. 
-  The Colony Mill Trail is the Old Colony Mill Road in Sequoia National Park.
-  Ridge Route Alternate in Piru Gorge
-  Old Ridge Route from the ruins of Tumble Inn south to Templin Highway.
-  The original NOTR alignment through Crowder Canyon in Cajon Pass. 
-  The Capitol Gorge Trail in Capitol Reef National Park is Old UT 24.
-  Former US 180 (I) through the 1922 Queen Creek Tunnel is a somewhat popular trail near Superior. 

What other examples are abandoned roadways converted into trails are out there?

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Locally, the old Stillwater Lift Bridge is about to reopen as a bike/pedestrian crossing after three years of conversion worn. I'm not sure where precisely WisDOT closed off old WIS 64 to car traffic, but my bet would be that's now bike trail.

[ilpt4u]

The old Chain of Rocks Mississippi River Bridge is now a bike/walking trail, north of St Louis

[webny99]

Are you interested in old railways converted into trails as well?
I'm not aware of any actual roads that have been converted to trails in this vicinity, however, there are several rail bed examples.

As far as bridges go, the Pont de Rennes Bridge in Downtown Rochester used to carry Platt St. over the river prior to 1982, but now it's a pedestrian-only bridge, and quite a nice one at that.

[Max Rockatansky]

Are you interested in old railways converted into trails as well?
I'm not aware of any actual roads that have been converted to trails in this vicinity, however, there are several rail bed examples.

As far as bridges go, the Pont de Rennes Bridge in Downtown Rochester used to carry Platt St. over the river prior to 1982, but now it's a pedestrian-only bridge, and quite a nice one at that.

Yes, but it probably would merit it's own non-road topic. 

[csw]

In the same vein, the old Main Street bridge connecting Lafayette and West Lafayette, IN, was converted to a pedestrian bridge I think in the 90s. It's technically a part of the Wabash Heritage Trail. (If you attended the Hoosier Heartland roadmeet, we walked across this bridge.)

[Roadrunner75]

Long Island Motor Parkway / Vanderbilt Parkway
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_Motor_Parkway

I had a little Google aerials fun at one point trying to trace the old route beyond where the saved bike trail portion ends.

[DandyDan]

The Meridian Bridge (old US 81) in Yankton, SD is a bike trail to the Nebraska side of the Missouri River.

[DJ Particle]

A few portions of the original Old Kings' Highway on the East and North ends of Cape Cod are still open to vehicles.  Those that are not have become hiking and/or biking trails in the intervening years.

[Mapmikey]

US 17's old routing along the Dismal Swamp Canal in Chesapeake VA from NC to the US 17 Business (Deep Creek) area.

The abandoned NC 288 alignment near Bryson City

PA 61 through the Centralia area is used as if it were a trail

I believe Norway has a lot of this on old alignments that were bypassed with tunnels.

[Henry]

Definitely the abandoned PA Turnpike!

[froggie]

Definitely the abandoned PA Turnpike!

I'd call this one unofficial for now.  It's a non-profit that owns it and it is not officially open as several million dollars of restoration work is necessary before it can be opened.


As for the OP, there's a stretch of former West River Rd in Brooklyn Park, MN (north of 97th Ave N and MN 610) that is now part of the West Mississippi River Regional Trail.

[Roadrunner75]

Southbound lanes of the Niagara Scenic Parkway heading into Niagara Falls, NY.

Old US 9W in the Palisades Interstate Park just south of the NJ/NY border.

[ozarkman417]

The old James River bridge which carried U.S Routes 60 & 65 southeast of Springfield, MO is now part of a "greenway trail".

[usends]

How about old US 25E over Cumberland Gap?

[froggie]

How about old US 25E over Cumberland Gap?

I've hiked that.  Most of the trail does not follow the old roadbed but instead takes its own path through the gap.  The only real part of the trail that does follow the roadbed is the spur to Cudjo's Cave on the Virginia side.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Around Hoover Reservoir & Alum Creek Reservoir (in Delaware County, Ohio), the former roadways have devolved into unofficial walking trails.

[ErmineNotyours]

Old Highway Bridge North of Vancouver, BC.

Columbia River Highway Trail, former US 30 in Oregon.

[ari-s-drives]

San Ramon, CA rebuilt Dougherty Road in a different spot and turned the old road into a multi-use path.

Old street view of what is now the path

Street view of entrance to path

[gonealookin]

US 50 from Carson City to Stateline was realigned to the modern 4-lane highway in numerous phases between 1930 and 1970.  The old alignment can generally still be traced although there are too many private property obstacles to make it a practical through trip.  Many parts of it can be traveled by the public though.

[Super Mateo]

What other examples are abandoned roadways converted into trails are out there?

While not fully abandoned, US 66 in Towanda, IL was reduced from 4 lanes to 2.  Motor traffic is now all what used to be the eastbound lanes.  A small section of what used to be the westbound lanes is now a trail.

[fillup420]

another NC example is the Point Lookout trail, which follows old US 70 up the Blue Ridge escarpment between Old Fort and Ridgecrest. The segment was abandoned when a new alignment was built for US 70, which would eventually become I-40. Its a very scenic 3.5 trek up the mountain; the road roughly follows the NS rail line that loops through the area to gain elevation. Also, its a great downhill ride [emoji847]

[NE2]

A part of the old two-lane E18 freeway near Arendel, Norway is now a trail.

[cl94]

The biggest NY example that comes to mind outside of the Robert Moses...er...Niagara Scenic Parkway and former West River Parkway is an abandoned section of NY 30 (former NY 10) between Long Lake and Tupper Lake. Most (if not all) is part of the Forest Preserve and the southernmost bit is part of the trail up Goodman Mountain. Still a bit of pavement hanging around 80-90 years after the realignment. Few other sections of state highway in NY have been abandoned outright and left to rot, making this extra interesting.

PA 61 through the Centralia area is used as if it were a trail

Not anymore. Buried under dirt and "no trespassing" is strictly enforced by the property owner as of a few months ago.