Our Work - North Country Trail Association

The North Country Trail is America’s longest National Scenic Trail, winding nearly 5,000 miles across eight states. It is a vital part of the National Park System. The North Country Trail Association (NCTA) is the nonprofit partner of the National Park Service in building, maintaining, and protecting the North Country Trail. We organize and equip volunteers, collaborate with land managers, and advocate for support. Our goal is to provide all trail users with a safe and enjoyable experience.

Mission Statement

The mission of the North Country Trail Association is to develop, maintain, protect and promote the North Country National Scenic Trail as the premier hiking path across the northern tier of the United States through a trail-wide coalition of volunteers and partners. The NCTA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that partners with the National Park Service to unite individuals, affiliated trail groups, local Chapters, corporate sponsors and others linked in support of building and maintaining the North Country Trail and telling its story.

History of the Trail

Recommended as part of the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission Report in the early 1960s and supported by President Johnson’s “Natural Beauty Message” in 1965, subsequent federal studies and reports led to the enactment of the National Trails System Act of 1968. In addition to establishing the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail as the first National Scenic Trails, the Act also called for further study on 14 similar potential projects, one of which was the North Country Trail.

In 1971, a combined federal-state task force was assembled to study the feasibility of the North Country Trail. In 1973, Tom Gilbert joined the study support team. He was a new hire at the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, and was assigned to develop materials to support public meetings to be held across the northern tier of states where the North Country Trail was being proposed. Tom Gilbert later became the first Superintendent of the North Country National Scenic Trail for the National Park Service.

In March 1980, Congress passed legislation authorizing the North Country National Scenic Trail.

The authorized route that the NCNST follows today differs significantly in many areas from some of the initial proposals. Some of the early proposed route highlights and suggestions included transecting Ohio through Columbus to the Michigan/Indiana border, following the Lake Michigan shoreline, a large loop in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and following the length of the Sheyenne River in North Dakota. The Trail’s current route was – and continues to be – the direct result of public input received during those early and subsequent public meetings. Uniting eight states, the North Country Trail immerses the hiker in the best natural features and cultural heritage the North Country has to offer.

In December 2023, the National Park Service (NPS) granted unit status to the North Country National Scenic Trail. Although already administered by the NPS, the trail lacked a special unit designation, which held it back from important funding and promotional opportunities. Of the six National Scenic Trails managed by the NPS, three have been considered units (Appalachian, Potomac Heritage, Natchez Trace), and three lacked that distinction (North Country, Ice Age, and New England). Although there was no apparent reason for the discrepancy, the implications became clear over the past several decades as we watched as resources, including funding, support, and promotion, were often held back from the three trails without unit status. This announcement remedies that and puts us on even ground with all of the other units of the National Park System. Read more in this blog post.

History of the Association

In March 1981, about 12 volunteers gathered at the bank in White Cloud, Michigan to discuss forming an organization: a major nonprofit partner with the National Park Service in building the North Country National Scenic Trail. Dues were set at $20. Lance Feild, the newly appointed President of the North Country Trail Association, was the first to make his payment as member #1. Headquarters was the Birch Grove Schoolhouse in White Cloud. The Association has since moved headquarters to Lowell, Michigan, grown to over a dozen staff, and thousands of volunteers and members. There are more than 30 established NCTA Trail Towns.

Documents + Statements