The Biking on Long Distance Trails (BOLT) Act was signed into law on January 4, 2025, after more than a decade of advocacy from the mountain biking and bikepacking communities. The first core deliverable of the BOLT Act is that federal land management agencies must develop a list of at least 10 existing and 10 potential long-distance bike trails of no less than 80 miles.

Following the passage of the BOLT Act, Bikepacking Roots, IMBA, and PeopleForBikes joined forces as national cycling and trails organizations alongside regional and local partners to form the BOLT Coalition. The coalition’s goals are to ensure bicyclist and trail steward voices are heard in the BOLT trail prioritization process and to support federal agencies as they prepare a required report to Congress.

Led by Bikepacking Roots, the coalition worked to build a database of existing and potential trails that met the criteria for BOLT recognition. In mid-2025, they surveyed the cycling community to obtain additional submissions to fill in any potential gaps. That trail data was analyzed and synthesized into a new report: Long Live Long Trails: A Report by the Biking on Long Distance Trails (BOLT) Coalition.

This process included refining assumptions for BOLT eligibility for the purposes of the report. Key criteria include that trails are at least 80 miles, the majority of the trail is on federal recreation lands, the trails are primarily dirt/natural surfaces, and the trails may be legally used for biking.

After extensive research and considering 60+ submitted trails against BOLT criteria, the report includes:

• 20 existing trails covering 5,232 miles in 12 states on USFS, BLM, and NPS managed lands. This includes the AZT!
• 13 potential trails currently covering 5,077 miles with a potential to cover 7,778  miles when completed in 10 states on USFS, BLM, and DoD managed lands. 

Check out the full report here.