Objective Guided by the principle of advocating harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, linear recreational spaces have become significant places for people to explore and connect with nature. Currently, China is actively promoting the establishment of a natural reserve system centered on national parks. Building a system network of long-distance, multi-purpose and multi-target national trails faces various challenges. Therefore, it is necessary to draw experiences and lessons from regions with more mature outdoor recreation and trail system. As the second largest country in the world in terms of land area, Canada has successfully established a national trail system. Although its practice can bring us very valuable insights, it has been relatively understudied.

Methods This study takes the Trans Canada Trail (TCT), one of the world’s longest systems of multi-use recreational trails, as its primary case. Initiated in 1992, TCT has stretched over 29,000 km from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans, through every province and territory, linking over 15,000 communities. It draws on relevant legislation, policies, and guidelines issued by responsible agencies, as well as official reports. Combining geographic information analysis with field investigations, it explores the planning, construction, and management practices of TCT. It focuses on the goals, standards and system for TCT’s classification, the universal accessible strategies, and the design of its signage system. The photos of field investigation demonstrate how different sections of TCT are designed to adapt to their various contexts. The study also explored how quantitative assessment of sustainable benefits could help enhance government and public support for the trail development. It also highlights four key characteristics of TCT’s operation model, namely the non-profit leadership, the collaborations among multiple stakeholders, financial sustainability, and ensuring public safety.

Results The TCT employs a composite classification approach that communicates trail information more clearly and helps users make better-informed decisions. It adopts a standardized framework based on Trail Management Objective (TMO), allowing for systematic evaluation of how well a trail’s physical design parameters align with its intended management goals, and enabling targeted management strategies. The surface and nodes of the trails are designed to adapt to their respective contexts, with distinct configurations tailored to natural, rural and urban settings. TCT’s universal accessibility is supported by physical design, users’ participatory design methods, and information services, as well as design guidelines and digital mapping tools used to establish a coherent signage system. Independent organizations have conducted quantitative evaluations of the economic, social, and environmental benefits of TCT to demonstrate its sustainability. The findings reveal that TCT can enhance the common vision of the nation, which helps TCT gain stronger support for its development and management from government agencies and the general public. The operation model of TCT is led by a non-profit organization, relying on the collaborative governance of the federal government, local authorities, communities, enterprises and indigenous people, which is the approach to address the challenges posed by fragmented land ownership and a complex social landscape. The sources of funds for the development and maintenance of TCT are relatively extensive. Although federal funds take up the major portion, more than one-third of the budget comes from other sources, such as private donors. These resources are mainly allocated to trail construction and maintenance, as well as outreach activities and volunteer participation. A sound financial audit and the financial system’s transparency are essential to sustain TCT’s operation. Furthermore, the public liability insurance is required to help reduce the operational risks and costs for the management entities.

Conclusion Facing numerous challenges, including vast territory, fragmented land ownership, complex environmental contexts, and the lack of a unified federal legal framework among others, one of the world’s longest national trail systems has been successfully established across Canada, with a nationally shared vision and high connectivity. Its practical experience enables us to gain meaningful insights. In the process of establishing a national trail system, China still faces several critical challenges that require immediate resolution: the absence of a cross-regional coordination mechanism has led to fragmentation in management; insufficient systematic policy guidance and technical standards hinder the improvement of trail system’s quality; over-reliance on government funding makes it difficult to establish a sustainable long-term investment mechanism; a scientific evaluation system has yet to be developed to achieve a dynamic balance between ecological conservation and social development; and effective public participation and multi-stakeholder collaboration mechanisms remain challenging to implement. The suggestions are listed as follows: 1) Establish a cross-regional collaborative governance mechanism, to enhance connectivity for large-scale trails, and to help connect China’s rich cultural and natural heritage; 2) Adopt a composite operational management system and a multi-stakeholder cooperation mechanism, and improve diversified funding mechanisms; 3) Formulate unified trail guidelines, to leverage the guiding and unifying role of trail guidelines to promote cross-regional design and maintenance cooperation; 4) Establish a sustainable evaluation system through quantitative assessment, to support multi-dimensional coordinated development of trails.