Earning the National Historic Trails Award

The BSA has a National Historic Trails Award that Scouts can earn.  With a little research, I learned that the National Trails System Act was passed in 1968 and established 4 categories of trails:

1. National Scenic Trails
2. National Historic Trails
3. National Recreation Trails (NRT)
4. Connecting trails.

Illinois has a number of National Recreation Trails (NRT), but only appears to have 1 National Historic Trail; and we have only a part of the trail at that.  The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail passes through Union, Johnson, and Pope counties in Southern Illinois.  

More information is available on the National Park Service website here: Illinois Trail of Tears.