Because I frequently go on walking holidays along European Hiking Trails and North America trails I have noticed a difference in the way hiking trails are constructed on both continents.
There are always exceptions to what I have listed below but these differences do alter the overall hiking experience:
Five ways the European trails are different:
In Europe you will find a network connecting trails while in North America you tend to have long distance trails such as the Appalachian Trail; Pacific Crest Trail; and Trans Canada Trail with a few connectors or side trails
In England you can stop for a cup of tea high on a mountain in the Lake District. In the Alps of Germany or Switzerland there will be a café at the top of the mountain. In North America you rarely have tea rooms or cafés except in a few of the very popular National Parks such as Banff with a lot of day hikers.
Many of the North American trails pass mostly through National, State or Provincial Parks even the long distance trails such as the Appalachian Trail. An therefore these trails tend to be in forested areas. In places such as England public footpaths in use for centuries are not uncommon.
North American trails have blazes on trees with little or no directional signage. While European Hiking Trails there are often directional signs are most intersections with blazes on posts or maybe even none as you are just following the trail.
In North American hiking trails usually consist of a dirt path with plenty of wooden bridges, boardwalks and stairs and other support structures along the routes. While frequently this is to stop erosion in areas where there is a high number of hikers other times it is this to make it easier for hiking. Meanwhile European hiking trails are more likely (not always) to be wider and may have a gravel base.
These differences between European hiking trails and those in North America just make the walking holiday experience even more interesting.
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