Links to Other Trails and Parks 

The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail (OVNHT) In 1980 the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail became the first trail in the eastern U.S. to be designated as a National Historic Trail. It runs for some 220 miles from Abingdon, Virginia, through Eastern Tennessee, over the high mountains of North Carolina, across the Piedmont of North and South Carolina, to the Kings Mountain National Military Park. The 70-mile Wilkes-Surry branch starts in Elkin NC and joins the main route near its center at Quaker Meadows (Morganton, North Carolina). The historic march along this trail started on 1780 Sept 25. Militia from the western parts of what was then Virginia and North Carolina (now Kentucky and Tennessee) sought to head off an invasion of their home areas by British and Loyalist forces. On 1780 Oct 07 they surrounded, defeated, and captured the threatening British force at Kings Mountain SC. For more information on the trail and its heritage tourism activities see www.nps.gov/ovvi and 2005 OVNHT Newsletter The W3R may follow a similar pattern of development and use. Three types of routes are designated: the true, historic route (much of it inaccessible today) a re-enctor route used by people who walk roads and footpaths close to the route each year a tourism route that follows nearby highways. Connecticut Forest and Park Association (CFPA) CFPA established the Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail System in 1929. The 700 miles of trails traverse public and private lands throughout Connecticut. They are maintained by hundreds of CFPA volunteers working in cooperation with many public and private landowners and are enjoyed by thousands of citizens each year. See www.ctwoodlands.org/CFPA.html The Partnership for the National Trail System (PNTS) The Partnership for the National Trail System provides educational workshops for trail associations and focuses the efforts of the many volunteer groups in support of National Trails. Each February representatives from the member groups gather in Washington DC to coordinate their activities and to participate in "Trail Advocacy Week", discussing their development efforts with their Congressional delegations and with Park Service and other government agencies. See www.nationaltrailspartnership.org National Park Service Web Sites for Other Revolutionary War Sites and Trails Lighting Freedom's Flame - the NPS' gateway site for the American Revolution. Colonial National Park includes Yorktown VA, the southern terminus for the W3R. The Yorktown visitors center might incorporate more information about the French Expeditionary Force under Gen. Rochambeau and the interaction between American and French officers during the two and a half years that the French Army was in the United States.. Tour a Park features interactive maps that highlight American Revolution destinations in eighteen states. Some have photo-galleries and streaming video clips to provide a virtual tour prior to a visit or show historic re-enactments that take place only once a year at the park. NPS Rev War Museum Collection has links to several sites that describe the use of artifacts from those parks. For example the Guilford Courthouse site has a half-hour of streaming audio fife and drum music.

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