16 U.S.C. § 1245: Connecting or side trails; establishment, designation, and marking as components of national trails system; location

Connecting or side trails within park, forest, and other recreation areas administered by the Secretary of the Interior or Secretary of Agriculture may be established, designated, and marked by the appropriate Secretary as components of a national recreation, national scenic or national historic trail. When no Federal land acquisition is involved, connecting or side trails may be located across lands administered by interstate, State, or local governmental agencies with their consent, or, where the appropriate Secretary deems necessary or desirable, on privately owned lands with the consent of the landowner. Applications for approval and designation of connecting and side trails on non-Federal lands shall be submitted to the appropriate Secretary.