It's called The Great Trail, it spans 14,913 miles, it is the longest trail in the world and, after 25 years in the making, it is officially open to visitors.
Connecting 13 territories and 15,000 different communities all over Canada, The Great Trail was first conceived in 1992 by Canadians Pierre Camu, Paul LaBarge and Bill Pratt, who set out to create the world's longest navigable trail to celebrate Canada's 125th birthday.
Spanning from one coast of the country to the other, The Great Trail is made of a whole lot of individual paths that can be explored by cycling, hiking, walking, snowmobiling and horseback riding (26% of it requires travel across waterways).
The project is also deemed the largest volunteer effort to have ever taken over the country—over 470 volunteer groups have worked on it.
Although clearly an exciting effort by the Canadians, it seems like the project hasn't achieved its initial objectives. "Reportedly, the route falls significantly short of its original goal of being an off-road trail, with only around 4,900 miles of the route, or 32 percent, composed of off-road trails," reports Smithsonian.com. "About 5,340 miles of the trail are along roads or the shoulders of highways, while 3,770 miles are water trails and 1,110 miles share the trail with ATVs."
Not all seem to be disappointed, though. "We've built it, we've connected it, we're ready," project president Deborah Apps told The Globe and Mail. "The next chapter is, 'Come on world, come see what Canada has to offer.'"
Count us in.