America's 1st All Water
National Historic Trail

The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Water Trail retraces Smith's exploration of the Chesapeake Bay 400 years ago. Based out of Jamestown, Smith and his small crew rowed and sailed almost 3,000 miles in an open boat as they explored the bay and its major rivers.

The newly established National Historic Trail along Smith's route will give modern adventurers a path to explore the earliest roots of our continuing American adventure—the culture of the Native Americans that Smith met, the tenuous hold the English gained on American soil, and the steady expansion of commerce and trade that fed the Chesapeake region's rich maritime history.

The water trail marked by John Smith's voyages of exploration between 1607 and 1609 is this and much, much more.

To commemorate John Smith’s extraordinary achievement, the Chesapeake Bay community, including the Members of Congress, Governors, state legislators, county commissioners, mayors, businesses, tourism agencies, and non-profit organizations (view our list of Friends) have supported the establishment of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Water Trail as an addition to the National Trails System.

Legislation creating the trail was signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 19, 2006. It is the country's first all-water national historic trail.

The Director of the National Park Service, Mary Bomar, named John Maounis Trail Superintendent for the newly-established Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Maounis is Director of National Park Service (NPS) Chesapeake Bay Program Office as well as of NPS Northeast Region Heritage Area Programs.

Trail efforts will be coordinated by the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network and the Chesapeake Bay Program, and the NPS may now initiate preparation of a Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP). The release of the CMP will include a public scoping process to solicit comments and encourage public participation associated with implementation of the trail.

Explore our website and find out more about

• John Smith's voyages
• the vision for a national historic water trail
• the path to establishing an official water trail
• the native peoples of the Chesapeake region
• the Friends of the Capt. John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Water Trail
• trail events you can participate in
  
  

Commemorative Coins Now Available
The Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coin program comprises two coins -- a sliver dollar and a $5 gold coin. The $5 gold coin depicts Captain John Smith conversing with a Virginia Indian. For more information about the coins to purchase go to the United States Mint website.

A bronze Collector's Coin depicting John Smith is also available from the Jamestown Settlement website.

Vice President Remarks on Trail
Read Vice President Cheney's speech to a Joint Session of the Virginia General Assembly at Jamestown Memorial Church in Jamestown, expressing enthusiasm for America's first all-water National Historic Trail.