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Top Birding Trails
* Audubon trails
 
Northeast
 Audubon Niagara Birding Trail (NY)*
 Connecticut River Birding Trail (NH & VT)
 Lake Champlain Birding Trail (VT & NY)*
 New Jersey Birding Trails
 Susquehanna Birding Trail (PA)*

Southeast
 Alabama Coastal Birding Trail
 Colonial Coast Birding Trail (GA)*
 Great Florida Birding Trail*
 John James Audubon Birding Trail (KY)
 Mississippi Coastal Birding Trail*
 North Carolina Birding Trail
 Virginia Birding & Wildlife Trail

Great Lakes
 Great River Birding Trail*
 Minnesota's Pine to Prairie Birding Trail
 Minnesota River Valley Birding Trail*
 Oak Leaf Birding Trail

Texas
 Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail

Rockies
 Great Pikes Peak Birding Trail (CO)*
 Great Salt Lake Birding Trails (UT)*
 
MidWest
Nebraska Birding Trails
 

Southwest
 Southeastern Arizona Birding Trail
 Southwest Utah Birding Trails*

Pacific Coast
 Alaska Coastal Wildlife Viewing Trail
 Central Coast Birding Trail (CA)*
 Eastern Sierra Birding Trail (CA)*
 Great Washington Birding Trail*
 
Backseat Birder
 

 


Birding trails are being blazed across the nation, preserving land and promoting tourism along the way. Whether you're a seasoned birder or a novice, it's time to toss a map in the glove compartment, buckle up, and hit the road.

Long car trips inevitably mean taking lots of breaks: snack breaks, restroom breaks, fuel breaks-- even breaks to gape at roadside wonders, like the world's largest wheel of cheese. But breaks to bird? You got it. These pit stops are even on the maps.

Birding-trail maps, that is-- handy depictions of a state's natural resources, connected by the open road. Since Texas welcomed people to the country's first section of driving trail six years ago, more than half the states in the nation have followed its lead.

These prime wildlife-watching sites may beeline across a county or may be strung together in meandering loops. They may be located just off of major highways, state routes, or small country roads. They may be on private or public land. Each site is as unique as the ecosystem it highlights, from Niagara's tumbling waters to Arizona's dry scrub. But they all have one thing in common: They're home to a wealth of avian treasures you might not otherwise find.

Happy Trails!

- Jen Bogo, Senior Editor Audubon Magazine

Beginning birder? Looking to expand your birding equipment? Check out Audubon's Marketplace for the best in birding supplies:
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