The TransAmerica Trail or TAT is a transcontinental vehicular route, intended as a recreational pathway across the United States using a minimum of paved roads, traveled by

dual-sport motorcycle A dual-sport motorcycle is a type of street-legal motorcycle that is designed for both on and off-road use. The terms ''all-road,'' ''on/off road,'' and ''dual-purpose'' are also used for this class of motorcycles. Dual-sports are equipped with ...

off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with de ...

, or

touring bicycle A touring bicycle is a bicycle designed or modified to handle bicycle touring. To make the bikes sufficiently robust, comfortable and capable of carrying heavy loads, special features may include a long wheelbase (for ride comfort and to avoid p ...

. The trail was scouted by Sam Correro in 1984 who spent 12 years assembling the route using only publicly accessible roads and trails. To legally travel on the TAT, vehicles and drivers must be appropriately licensed for their type and class.

Route

The original route starts in Eastern

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

( Tellico Plains) and makes its way through

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

including the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

, Oklahoma,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

and finishes on the

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

Coast at Battle Rock in Port Orford. This route has since been unofficially supplemented by an open source community with additional eastern starting points on the New York and North Carolina coasts, and end points in Oregon and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The eastern portion of the route mainly consists of farm roads and forestry tracks which become more severe toward the

Southern Rocky Mountains The Southern Rocky Mountains are a major subregion of the Rocky Mountains of North America located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming, the central and western portions of Colorado, the northern portion of New Mexico, and e ...

where it covers several high passes. The desert of Utah follows, then

Sawtooth National Forest Sawtooth National Forest is a National Forest that covers 2,110,408 acres (854,052 ha) in the U.S. states of Idaho (~96 percent) and Utah (~4 percent). Managed by the U.S. Forest Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it was originally ...

of Idaho and the

Deschutes National Forest The Deschutes National Forest is a United States National Forest located in parts of Deschutes, Klamath, Lake, and Jefferson counties in central Oregon. It comprises along the east side of the Cascade Range. In 1908, the Deschutes National F ...

of Oregon, to name a few.

Types of travelers and vehicles

The trail is traveled mainly by riders of motorcycles who can choose to be self sufficient by

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...

, often rough (or wild camping), motel supported or vehicle supported. Others choose to travel by ATV or

4x4 Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

vehicle, often in overlander configuration. Bicyclists also utilize the route, often long-distance touring cyclists. Skill sets of riders on the trail vary from veteran riders with decades of off-road experience, to well-prepared and educated beginners. Motorcycle types are usually dual-sport or adventure style motorcycles, such as the Kawasaki KLR 650 or the BMW R1200GS, due to their higher ground clearance, suspension travel, and tires being better suited for the various terrain on the TAT. The trail has also been completed by less conventional motorcycles, such as the Honda

Grom Grom may refer to: Military * JW GROM, a Polish special forces unit * ORP ''Grom'', several ships of the Polish Navy * Grom (missile), a Polish anti-aircraft missile * A Yugoslav/Serbian version of the Kh-23 (AS-9 'Kyle') air-to-surface missi ...

and CT series trail bikes. Vehicles with 4 or more wheels are largely body-on-frame trucks, commonly outfitted with raised suspension, recovery equipment, and other off-road oriented modifications. Due to the challenging obstacles on the trail, these are less common. Side-by-sides, or SXSs. are only street legal in the state of Montana, and therefore cannot legally travel on the public roads of the TAT. In the summer of 2021, journalists from

MotorTrend ''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949. Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 1998, when it was sold to ...

became the first to cross the Trans America Trail in an electric vehicle, using a stock

Rivian Rivian Automotive, Inc. is an American electric vehicle manufacturer and automotive technology company founded in 2009. Rivian is building an electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) and pickup truck on a "skateboard" platform that can support fut ...

R1T.

References

{{reflist Endurance and trail riding Motorcycling in the United States Motorsport in the United States Off-roading Transportation in the United States Transportation infrastructure in the United States 1984 establishments in the United States

External links

* https://www.transamtrail.com/

Route

Types of travelers and vehicles

See also

References

External links