Congress·In Committee·S. 4538

Washington’s Trail—1753 National Historic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2026

Study for New George Washington National Historic Trail

about 2 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: A senate committee

This bill was introduced in the Senate and is currently being reviewed by the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. It is in the early stages of the lawmaking process and is considered active. There are no upcoming votes scheduled at this time.

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Could go either way

The bill has strong bipartisan support from all the states the trail passes through. However, many study bills are introduced and not all make it through the full legislative process.

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from S. 5051 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
S. 5051 (118th) →

Key Points

This bill asks the government to study a 500-mile route used by George Washington in 1753. The study will determine if the path should become an official national historic trail.
The trail starts in Williamsburg, Virginia, and ends in Waterford, Pennsylvania. It follows the path Washington took on a mission to meet with French forces right before the French and Indian War.
If the trail is approved later, it could help protect the land and bring more tourists to the area. This study is the first step to see if the path is historically important and easy to manage.
Senators from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia are supporting this plan together. They want to highlight the early history of the United States and the role Washington played before he became a general.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

May 14, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

May 14, 2026

Introduced in Senate

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes or news coverage recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Washington’s Trail—1753 National Historic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2026

Bill NumberS 4538

Congress119th Congress

ChamberSenate

Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(5)

D: 2R: 3

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.