The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is a 2,180-mile footpath along the ridgecrests and across the major valleys of the Appalachian Mountains from Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in northern Georgia. It traverses the scenic, wooded, pastoral, wild, and culturally resonant lands of the Appalachian Mountains. Conceived in 1921, it was built by private citizens and completed in 1937. The trail traverses Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia.

The White Clay Creek is renowned for its scenery, opportunities for birding and trout fishing and historic features. The watershed is also an important source of drinking water for residents of both Pennsylvania and Delaware. The proximity of the Philadelphia and Wilmington-Newark metropolitan areas, however, is having an adverse impact on the watershed. In 1991 citizens requested that the creek and its tributaries be considered for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.