Trail runners in the Eastern Great Lakes and Hudson Lowlands ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment that extends over the lowlands centered on the lower reaches of the St. Lawrence and Hudson Rivers, stretching from Quebec City to Georgian Bay and the Notre Dame and Appalachian Mountains in New York State and Vermont. The region's severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate features warm summers and cold, snowy winters. Runners will traverse landscapes dominated by croplands and remaining mixed coniferous-deciduous forests, including sugar maple, yellow birch, eastern hemlock, and eastern white pine. The terrain is characterized by rolling to level lowlands with deep glacial and marine deposits, large rivers, lakes, and wetlands. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, black bears, moose, and a variety of birds, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Northern Appalachian Plateau and Uplands ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment spanning southern New York and northern Pennsylvania. The region's severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate features warm summers and severe winters. Runners will traverse large areas of Appalachian oak-hickory forests, encountering northern hardwoods such as white, black, and red oaks, hickories, white pine, maples, beech, and birches. The terrain includes rolling hills, open valleys, and low mountains, with low to moderate gradient perennial streams and small glacial lakes dotting the landscape. Wildlife sightings may include black bears, white-tailed deer, red foxes, gray foxes, and a variety of birds, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the North Central Hardwood Forests ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment in central Minnesota, Wisconsin, and a small portion of Michigan. The region's severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate features warm summers and severe winters. Runners will traverse oak savannas, oak-hickory forests, and maple-basswood forests, encountering northern hardwoods such as maple, beech, and birch. The terrain includes nearly level to rolling till plains, lacustrine basins, outwash plains, and rolling to hilly moraines. The region's hydrology is marked by a high density of perennial streams, wetlands, and lakes. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, coyotes, gray foxes, beavers, raccoons, and a variety of birds, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Driftless Area ecoregion will experience a unique and varied environment spanning southeast Minnesota, southwest Wisconsin, northeast Iowa, and northwest Illinois. The region's severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate features warm summers and severe winters. Runners will traverse a mosaic of prairie with little bluestem, Indiangrass, and sideoats grama, as well as forests of bur oak, white oak, sugar maple, basswood, and red oak. The terrain is characterized by hilly uplands, deeply dissected loess-capped plateaus, and rock outcrops of shale, sandstone, dolomite, and limestone. The region's hydrology includes many perennial streams, springs, and spring-fed streams, with few natural lakes but some small reservoirs and farm ponds. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, coyotes, gray foxes, beavers, raccoons, and a variety of birds, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment in southern Michigan and northern Indiana. The region's severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate features warm to hot summers and severe winters. Runners will traverse oak-hickory forests, northern swamp forests, and beech forests, encountering dominant tree species such as white oak, red oak, black oak, bitternut hickory, shagbark hickory, sugar maple, and beech. The terrain includes broad, glaciated plains with deep till and outwash, featuring landforms such as paleobeach ridges, relict dunes, morainal hills, kames, drumlins, meltwater channels, and kettles. The region's hydrology is marked by numerous perennial streams, small and medium-size lakes, and abundant groundwater. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, coyotes, red foxes, gray foxes, beavers, river otters, and a variety of birds, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Northeastern Coastal Zone ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment covering most of southern New England and the coastal areas of New Hampshire and southern Maine. The region's severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate features warm summers and severe winters. Runners will traverse Appalachian oak forests and northeastern oak-pine forests, encountering white oak, red oak, hickories, white pine, and some maple, beech, birch, and hemlock in cooler areas. The terrain includes irregular plains, low to high hills, and open hills, with elevations ranging from sea level to over 980 feet. The region's hydrology is marked by abundant perennial streams, lakes, ponds, and wetlands, with stream networks displaying a variety of patterns due to the geologic variety and complex geomorphic history. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, black bears, bobcats, coyotes, and a variety of small mammals, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Acadian Plains and Hills ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment extending from Chaleur Bay in New Brunswick southwards to Portland, Maine. The region's severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate features warm, moist summers and snowy, cold winters. Runners will traverse mixed wood forests composed of sugar maple, beech, and yellow birch on upland sites, and eastern hemlock, balsam fir, eastern white pine, and white spruce in valleys. The terrain includes hilly uplands, plains with hills, and rolling lowlands, with elevations ranging from 656 to 1640 feet. The region's hydrology is marked by perennial streams, large rivers, and dense concentrations of glacial lakes. Wildlife sightings may include moose, black bears, white-tailed deer, and a variety of birds, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Erie Drift Plain ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment south of Lake Erie in northeastern Ohio, extending eastward through northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York. The region's severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate features warm summers and cold winters. Runners will traverse landscapes once covered by beech-maple forests and mixed oak forests, encountering red oak, white oak, shagbark hickory, sugar maple, yellow birch, and hemlock. The terrain includes gently to strongly rolling, dissected plateaus with low rounded hills, scattered end moraines, kettles, and wetlands. The region's hydrology is marked by perennial and intermittent streams, wetlands, sphagnum bogs, and lakes. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, red foxes, raccoons, beavers, bald eagles, and a variety of birds and small mammals, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment adjacent to Lake Michigan in southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. The region's severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate features warm summers and severe winters. Runners will traverse a mosaic of vegetation types, including hardwood forests, oak savannas, and tall-grass prairies, encountering red and white oak, beech, sugar maple, and basswood. The terrain is predominantly flat to rolling glacial plains with till plains, lacustrine clay plains, pitted outwash plains, drumlins, and moraines, with elevations generally between 650 to 980 feet. The region's hydrology includes low to medium density perennial streams, numerous lakes, and wetlands. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, red foxes, coyotes, raccoons, and a variety of birds, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Central Corn Belt Plains ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment covering a large portion of northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana, with a small extension into southeastern Wisconsin. The region's severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate features hot summers and severe winters. Runners will traverse landscapes that were once extensive prairie communities intermixed with oak-hickory forests, encountering vegetation such as big bluestem, Indiangrass, prairie dropseed, switchgrass, white oak, black oak, and shagbark hickory. The terrain includes mostly glaciated, flat to rolling plains, with areas of sand dunes and lake plains, and elevations ranging from 440 to 1,100 feet. The region's hydrology is marked by intermittent and perennial streams, mostly low gradient, with many areas modified for agriculture. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats, and a variety of birds and small mammals, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Eastern Corn Belt Plains ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment encompassing large portions of central and eastern Indiana and western Ohio, with a small extension into southern Michigan. The region's severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate features hot summers and cold winters. Runners will traverse landscapes historically dominated by beech forests and elm-ash swamp forests, encountering a variety of vegetation. The terrain includes rolling till plains with local end moraines, extensive glacial deposits, and soils that are lighter, loamier, and better drained than neighboring regions. The region's hydrology is marked by perennial and intermittent streams, wetlands, lakes, and reservoirs, with abundant groundwater. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, coyotes, red foxes, gray foxes, and a variety of birds and small mammals, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Northern Piedmont ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment that lies between more mountainous regions to the west and coastal plains to the east, covering northern New Jersey, southeast Pennsylvania, northern Delaware, central Maryland, and northern Virginia. The region's transitional climate features hot summers and mild to cold winters. Runners will traverse landscapes that were once predominantly Appalachian oak forests, encountering chestnut oak, white oak, red oak, hickories, ash, elm, and yellow poplar. The terrain includes low rounded hills, irregular plains, and open valleys, with elevations mostly between 320 to 980 feet but ranging to over 1,640 feet. The region's hydrology is marked by perennial streams of low to moderate gradient and some springs. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, gray foxes, red squirrels, raccoons, and a variety of birds, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Interior River Valleys and Hills ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment located in the central part of the Mississippi basin, where large rivers such as the Ohio and Missouri meet the Mississippi River. This region spans southeast Iowa, southwestern and southern Illinois, eastern Missouri, southeastern Indiana, and western Kentucky. The severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate features hot summers and cold winters. Runners will traverse landscapes that were once extensive bottomland deciduous forests and swamp forests, now largely replaced by cropland and pastureland. The terrain includes wide, flat-bottomed terraced valleys, valley slopes, and river bluffs, with numerous perennial streams and rivers, wetlands, oxbow lakes, and reservoirs. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, badgers, raccoons, and a variety of birds and reptiles, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Interior Plateau ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment extending from southern Indiana and Ohio into central Kentucky and Tennessee and covering a portion of northern Alabama. The region's mild, mid-latitude, humid subtropical climate features hot summers and mild winters. Runners will traverse natural oak-hickory forests, bluestem prairies, cedar glades, and mixed mesophytic forests, encountering white oak, northern red oak, black oak, hickories, yellow poplar, red maple, and eastern red cedar. The terrain includes rolling and irregular plains, karst plains, dissected plateaus, open hills, and broad ridges, with elevations ranging from 325 to 1,345 feet. The region's hydrology is marked by perennial and intermittent streams, springs, lime sinks, caves, and large rivers such as the Kentucky, Green, Cumberland, Duck, Elk, and Tennessee, along with several large reservoirs. Wildlife sightings may include black bears, white-tailed deer, bobcats, gray foxes, and a variety of birds, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Piedmont ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment extending from Virginia to Alabama, acting as a transitional area between the mountainous Appalachians and the flat coastal plain. The region's mild, mid-latitude, humid subtropical climate features hot, humid summers and mild winters. Runners will traverse historic oak-hickory-pine forests, encountering white oak, southern red oak, post oak, hickory, shortleaf pine, and loblolly pine. The terrain includes moderately dissected irregular plains with some hills, covered by a thick mantle of saprolite and featuring rock outcrops with rare plants and animals. The region's hydrology is marked by a moderate to dense network of perennial streams and rivers, with few natural lakes but numerous large reservoirs. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, black bears, bobcats, gray foxes, and a variety of birds and reptiles, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Southeastern Plains ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment stretching from Maryland to Mississippi and Louisiana. The region's mild, mid-latitude, humid subtropical climate features hot, humid summers and mild winters. Runners will traverse landscapes dominated by longleaf pine, oak-hickory-pine forests, and southern mixed forests with beech, sweetgum, southern magnolia, and various oaks. The terrain includes dissected, rolling to smooth plains with sandy substrates and a moderate to dense network of perennial streams and rivers. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, black bears, bobcats, gray foxes, and a variety of birds and reptiles, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Mississippi Valley Loess Plains ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment stretching from the Ohio River in western Kentucky south to Louisiana, running just east of the Mississippi River, with a disjunct unit including Crowley's Ridge in Arkansas and Missouri. The region's mild, mid-latitude, humid subtropical climate features hot summers and mild winters. Runners will traverse upland forests dominated by oaks, hickories, loblolly, and shortleaf pine in the gently rolling plains to the east, and oak-hickory and southern mesophytic forests with beech, maples, sweetgum, and southern magnolia in the rugged Bluff Hills to the west. The terrain includes irregular plains, gently rolling hills, dissected hills, ridges, and bluffs near the Mississippi River, with thick deposits of loess. The region's hydrology is marked by low to moderate gradient streams, both perennial and intermittent, with sandy and silty substrates, and few lakes. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, red foxes, raccoons, and a variety of birds, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the South Central Plains ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment covering northern and western Louisiana, southern Arkansas, east Texas, and southeastern Oklahoma. The region's mild, mid-latitude, humid subtropical climate features hot summers and mild winters. Runners will traverse landscapes historically dominated by longleaf pine woodlands and savannas in the south, and shortleaf pine/hardwood forests in the north, encountering southern red oak, post oak, white oak, hickories, and loblolly pine. The terrain includes rolling plains, nearly flat fluvial terraces, bottomlands, sandy low hills, and low cuestas. The region's hydrology is marked by a high density of perennial streams, mostly of low to moderate gradient, with few lakes but some large reservoirs. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, coyotes, beavers, raccoons, and a variety of birds and reptiles, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Ridge and Valley ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment stretching from New York to Alabama. The region's humid continental climate features hot, humid summers and cold winters. Runners will traverse Appalachian oak forests in the north and oak-hickory-pine forests in the south. The terrain includes low-lying ridges, rolling valleys, and low irregular hills, with a variety of geologic materials such as limestone, dolomite, shale, and sandstone. The region's hydrology is marked by a trellised drainage pattern, small streams, larger meandering streams, springs, caves, and large reservoirs. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, black bears, bobcats, red foxes, and a variety of birds, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Central Appalachians ecoregion will experience a diverse and rugged environment extending from central Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and into northern Tennessee. The region's severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate features warm to hot summers and cold winters. Runners will traverse mixed mesophytic forests, encountering chestnut oak, red maple, white oak, black oak, beech, yellow-poplar, sugar maple, ash, basswood, buckeye, and hemlock. The terrain includes high hills, low mountains, steep narrow ridges, narrow winding valleys, and deep coves, with elevations varying from 490 to 1,960 feet. The region's hydrology is marked by a high density of perennial, moderate- and high-gradient streams with bedrock and boulder substrates, and some waterfalls. Wildlife sightings may include black bears, white-tailed deer, red foxes, gray foxes, bobcats, and a variety of birds, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Western Allegheny Plateau ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment spanning southwest Pennsylvania, southeast Ohio, western West Virginia, and northeastern Kentucky. The region's severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate features warm to hot summers and cold winters. Runners will traverse mixed mesophytic forests, encountering chestnut oak, red maple, white oak, black oak, beech, yellow poplar, sugar maple, ash, basswood, buckeye, and hemlock. The terrain includes dissected plateaus and rugged hills, underlain by carboniferous sedimentary rock, with a high density of perennial, moderate- and high-gradient streams. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, gray foxes, woodchucks, gray squirrels, wild turkeys, and a variety of birds and amphibians, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Blue Ridge ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment extending from southern Pennsylvania to northern Georgia. The region's climate varies from a severe, mid-latitude, humid continental climate in the north to a mild, mid-latitude, humid subtropical climate in the south, with hot summers and cold to mild winters. Runners will traverse one of the richest temperate broadleaf forests in the world, encountering Appalachian oak forests, hemlock, cove hardwoods, and pine communities. The terrain includes narrow ridges, hilly plateaus, and massive mountainous areas with high peaks reaching over 5,900 feet, such as Mount Mitchell. The region's hydrology features a high density of perennial, high-gradient, cool, clear streams with bedrock and boulder substrates, and a few large reservoirs. Wildlife sightings may include black bears, white-tailed deer, wild boars, bobcats, and a variety of birds, and amphibians, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Ozark Highlands ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment covering a large portion of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, with small portions extending into northeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas. The region's climate is a mix of mild and severe mid-latitude conditions, featuring hot summers and mild to severe winters. Runners will traverse oak-hickory and oak-hickory-pine forests, encountering post oak, blackjack oak, black oak, white oak, hickories, shortleaf pine, and tallgrass prairies with little bluestem, Indiangrass, and big bluestem. The terrain includes a dissected limestone plateau with karst features such as caves, springs, and spring-fed streams, as well as steep, rocky hills and gently rolling plains. The region's hydrology is marked by numerous perennial and intermittent streams, springs, sinkhole ponds, and large reservoirs. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats, beavers, and a variety of birds and reptiles, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Arkansas Valley ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas, nestled between the Boston Mountains to the north and the Ouachita Mountains to the south. The region's mild, mid-latitude, humid subtropical climate features hot summers and mild winters. Runners will traverse oak savannas and oak-hickory-pine forests, encountering post oak, blackjack oak, southern red oak, hickory, and shortleaf pine. The terrain includes plains with hills, open low mountains, and level to undulating floodplains and terraces, with major rivers such as the Canadian and the Arkansas. The region's hydrology is marked by moderate density of low to moderate gradient perennial streams, some intermittent streams, and several large reservoirs. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats, beavers, and a variety of birds and reptiles, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Ouachita Mountains ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas, just south of the Arkansas Valley. The region's mild, mid-latitude, humid subtropical climate features hot summers and mild winters. Runners will traverse landscapes once covered by oak-hickory-pine forests, now dominated by loblolly and shortleaf pine, with remaining hardwood species such as southern red oak, black oak, post oak, white oak, and hickories. The terrain includes open high hills, low mountains, and sharply defined east-west trending ridges with narrow valleys, formed through erosion of compressed sedimentary rock formations. The region's hydrology is marked by numerous moderate to high-gradient perennial streams, several large reservoirs, and some springs. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, black bears, coyotes, bobcats, and a variety of birds and reptiles, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Southwestern Appalachians ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment spanning Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. The region's mild, mid-latitude, humid subtropical climate features hot, humid summers and mild winters. Runners will traverse upland forests dominated by mixed oaks and shortleaf pine, encountering white oak, southern red oak, and hickories, as well as mixed mesophytic forests with maple, buckeye, beech, ash, basswood, sweetgum, and oaks in deeper ravines and escarpment slopes. The terrain includes undulating and rolling tableland, long steep mountainsides with cliffs, ravines, and gorges, and the long, narrow Sequatchie Valley. The region's hydrology is marked by a moderate to high density of small and medium perennial streams, waterfalls along escarpments, some springs, and large reservoirs. Wildlife sightings may include white-tailed deer, black bears, bobcats, gray foxes, and a variety of birds and reptiles, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment covering parts of the outer coastal plain from southern New Jersey to the South Carolina/Georgia border. The region's mild, mid-latitude, humid subtropical climate features hot, humid summers and mild winters. Runners will traverse landscapes once dominated by longleaf pine, now mostly loblolly and shortleaf pine, with patches of oak, sweetgum, and cypress near major streams. The terrain includes low elevation flat plains, low terraces, dunes, barrier islands, and beaches, with poorly drained soils. The region's hydrology is marked by low gradient streams and rivers, numerous swamps, marshes, estuaries, and a few large lakes. Wildlife sightings may include black bears, white-tailed deer, bobcats, gray foxes, and a variety of birds and reptiles, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
Trail runners in the Southern Coastal Plain ecoregion will experience a diverse and scenic environment extending from South Carolina and Georgia through much of central Florida, and along the Gulf coast lowlands of the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi, and eastern Louisiana. The region's mild, mid-latitude, humid subtropical climate features hot, humid summers and warm to mild winters. Runners will traverse landscapes once covered mainly by longleaf pine flatwoods and savannas, now supporting a variety of communities with slash pine, pond pine, pond cypress, beech, sweetgum, southern magnolia, white oak, and laurel oak forests. The terrain includes flat plains, barrier islands, coastal lagoons, marshes, and swampy lowlands, with rolling highlands in Florida containing numerous lakes. The region's hydrology is marked by numerous low-gradient, perennial streams, large rivers, wetlands, and lakes. Wildlife sightings may include black bears, white-tailed deer, bobcats, marsh rabbits, manatees, and a variety of birds and reptiles, making for an adventurous and picturesque trail running experience.
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