10,000 miles of national park trails restored in 16 states. It took three years

National park trails might look a little better as more people head outdoors.

The National Park Foundation and Nature Valley completed a three-year project to restore 10,000 miles of trails within national parks, according to a Wednesday news release.

The project began in January 2018 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of national trail and wild and scenic rivers acts.

“When you restore trails, you open up endless opportunities for recreation and learning,” Will Shafroth, president of the National Park Foundation, said when the project was announced. “Nature Valley’s generous support enhances people’s national park experiences now and in the future.”

Nature Valley donated $3 million toward the project, which included restoration projects in 19 parks across 16 states, including at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Natchez Trace Parkway and Shenandoah National Park.

“Nature Valley and the National Park Foundation (NPF) announced today the completion of a three-year project to restore access to 10,000 miles of national park trails, which is equivalent to flying from New York City to Sydney, (Australia),” the organization said Wednesday.

To celebrate the completion of the project, Nature Valley remade the 1980s hit song “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers with award-winning music artist Daveed Diggs.

The song has rewritten lyrics to represent the project, saying “But we restored 10,000 miles, and we’ll restore 10,000 more.”

“I love spending time in the outdoors so when Nature Valley approached me to remake this catchy tune as a fun way to encourage people go outside, I jumped at the chance,” Diggs said in the news release. “I love to visit our national parks, so I hope this leads to more people safely hitting the trails this year.”

This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 4:53 PM with the headline "10,000 miles of national park trails restored in 16 states. It took three years."