Trails and Rails
Trails & Rails is a program of the National Park Service, in conjunction with Amtrak, wherein Ranger Guides and Volunteers-In-Parks provide interpretation of a region's history and ecology aboard select Amtrak train routes. The program's goal is to "reach out to people who may not traditionally visit National Park Service areas", according to former NPS Director Robert Stanton.
History
The idea behind Trails & Rails first formed from an Amtrak marketing director who was on board the Sunset Limited and overheard a National Park Service ranger talking with passengers about the sites outside the window of the Sightseer Lounge. That ranger, James Miculka, served as Chief of Interpretation at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in New Orleans, and started the program with staff from the park aboard the Sunset Limited and soon the City of New Orleans.Trails & Rails officially became a nationwide program in 2000 when an agreement was signed between the National Park Service and Amtrak. Since then, the program has expanded to nearly two dozen routes under the leadership of National Coordinator Jim Miculka.
Around 2007, NPS began a partnership with the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University to house the management of the program there. RPTS faculty assists in training the new Volunteers-In-Parks who work on the program, as well as providing logistical and technical support to the program. RPTS faculty member Susan Scott serves as the Trails & Rails liaison, and coordinates training and support for the program.
The program was suspended during the early COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed in a limited form in 2021. By 2025, eleven routes were participating.