Thinking big: The role of mega trails in creating meaning and sense of place to conserve large landscapes

Providing access to natural areas through recreation is a valuable strategy for garnering social support for nature conservation. Direct experiences bring landscapes into people's perceptible realms and create sense of place and place meaning. This meaning can even be transferred to similar areas through a brand effect. Mega trails can play a role in creating meaning and sense of place for large landscapes. We investigated the sense of place and its spatial scale among hikers on the three national scenic trails forming the triple crown of hiking in the USA (Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trail) and discusses their potential to promote nature conservation at large landscape scales. We surveyed 602 hikers and assessed the level of sense of place and its spatial scale using Likert scales and heatmaps. Analyses of variance were performed to explore their relationships with hike duration, motivation, and trail section popularity. Results suggest that the longer the hiking, the stronger and broader the sense of place. Hikers motivated by national scenic trails present a stronger and broader sense of place, and this difference occurs even among day hikers, suggesting a brand effect. Implementing and promoting mega trails can create extensive meaningful places, facilitating the understanding of ecological processes and helping to promote large-scale nature conservation. Through the brand effect, mega trails have the potential to reach a wider audience, going beyond long-distance hikers and raising the awareness of millions of people who hike at least a short trail section about the importance of large-scale conservation.

Management implications

By offering long experiences in contact with nature, mega trails are associated with a greater sense of place and on a broader spatial scale. These trails help create meaning for large landscapes, raising support for their conservation. Furthermore, mega trails also create brands that reach an audience beyond long-distance hikers. Investing in mega trails that connect large landscapes or cross geographical features, such as biomes or mountain ranges, can help build support to promote connectivity across these landscapes. Corridors protected by mega trails can even facilitate species range shifts in response to climate change, acting as climate corridors.