As of 2026, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina) officially holds the title for the most maintained hiking trails in the US National Park system. The park features over 848 miles of trails, encompassing approximately 150 distinct routes. These range from short, paved walks like the path to the Clingmans Dome observation tower to 74 miles of the legendary Appalachian Trail that crests the park's highest ridges. Other high-trail-count contenders in 2026 include Yellowstone National Park (approx. 250+ trails) and Yosemite National Park (nearly 300 trails), but the Smokies' sheer density of paths—averaging a trail for every 3.5 square miles of land—remains unmatched. This vast network is one reason why it is consistently the most-visited national park in America. In 2026, the park has also expanded its "Digital Trailhead" system, allowing hikers to download real-time terrain and weather data for all 800+ miles of these paths directly to their GPS devices via the NPS app.