Editing Trail (section)

== History ==
[[File:OldTraceSunken.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of a dirt trail through a forest |The [[Natchez Trace]] is a trail, that was created and used by [[Native Americans in the United States]] for centuries, and was later used by early European and Americans.]]

{{See|Ancient trackway|Old military roads of Scotland|Hiking#History}}

Animals created the first trails, which were "later adapted by humans".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roads and highways |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/road |url-status=live |access-date=6 February 2021 |website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |archive-date=28 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128124718/https://www.britannica.com/technology/road }}</ref> Subsequently, farmers moved cattle to market along [[drove road]]s and between [[Transhumance|winter and summer grazing]] creating trails.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Transhumance Trails and Rural Roads |url=https://rm.coe.int/5-transhumance-trails/1680953757 |url-status=live |access-date=6 February 2021 |website=rm.coe.int |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122013133/https://rm.coe.int/5-transhumance-trails/1680953757 }}</ref><ref>K.J. Bonser, "The Drovers", London, 1970</ref> More recently, former industrial routes, such as [[Rail trail|railway rights of way]] and canal [[towpath]]s, have been turned into recreational trails.

Many historic routes, like the [[Silk Road]], the [[Amber Road]] and the [[Royal Road]] of the [[Persian Empire]], existed before the [[Christian era]] and covered great distances.

The [[Post Track]], a prehistoric [[causeway]] in the valley of the [[River Brue]] in the [[Somerset Levels]], England, is one of the oldest known constructed trackways and dates from around 3838 BC.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sweet Track|url=http://www.selrc.org.uk/maplocation.php?location_id=47|publisher=Severn Estuary Levers Research Committee|access-date=30 September 2016|archive-date=14 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414204551/http://www.selrc.org.uk/maplocation.php?location_id=47|url-status=live}}</ref>

The idea of following a path or track for exercise or pleasure developed during the 18th&nbsp;century in Europe and arose because of changing attitudes to the landscape and nature associated with the [[Romanticism|Romantic movement]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Norton Anthology of English Literature|editor-first=MH|editor-last=Abrams|volume=2|edition=7th|year=2000|pages=9–10|isbn=9780393963380|publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]]}}</ref> In earlier times, walking generally indicated poverty and was associated with vagrancy.<ref>{{cite book|first=Rebecca|last=Solnit|title=Wanderlust: A History of Walking|location=New York|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|year=2000|isbn=0670882097}}</ref>{{rp|pp=83,297}} In previous centuries long walks were undertaken as part of religious [[pilgrimages]] and this tradition continues throughout the world.

The first footpath built specifically for recreational hiking in America, and likely the world, is the [[Crawford Path]] in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The path was blazed in 1819 by Abel Crawford and his son, Ethan Allen. Originally 8.25 miles in length (now 8.5 miles), the trail leads to the summit of Mt. Washington.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Doran |first=Jeffrey J. |title=Ramble On: How Hiking Became One of the Most Popular Outdoor Activities in the World |year=2023 |publisher=Amazon Digital Services LLC – Kdp |isbn=979-8373963923}}</ref>