We have the American Hiking Society to make sure we remember to pay homage to our trails, whether it’s by grabbing a mattock and pickaxe to build new trail, grabbing a rake and trash bag to tidy up existing trail, or by simply taking a hike, a ride, a paddle on the first Saturday in June. 

Fortunately, we have lots of opportunities to celebrate.

For instance, NC Trail Days in Elkin and Jonesville. This four-day event starts today and runs through Sunday. The event celebrates two trail communities, three NC State Trails (Mountains-to-Sea, Yadkin River, Overmountain Victory), two State Parks (Stone Mountain and Pilot Mountain), and miles and miles of great trail. Trail for hiking, trail for mountain biking, trail for paddling. There’s also rock climbing, trail maintenance, speakers, films, music, food — everything you need to successfully celebrate trails. Learn more here.

And there are more. Throughout North Carolina and Virginia you’ll find hundreds of National Trails Day events. Below are links you can tap on to find the NTD event nearest you, or the event that’s most appealing. If you can’t find one here, check your local parks department and land conservancy, most of which have events scheduled.

Start planning your Saturday trail celebration now!

• American Hiking Society (NTD events nationwide)
• AHS NTD events in Virginia
• AHS NTD events in North Carolina
• Virginia State Parks
• North Carolina State Parks
• Great Trails State Coalition

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This year, the American Hiking Society, the official clearinghouse for National Trails Day events, lists  508 NTD events. Thirteen events are scheduled in North Carolina, 14 in Virginia. Keep in mind this is not a complete listing: Virginia State Parks alone is holding more than 100 events Saturday, North Carolina State Parks has 10. North Carolina’s Great Trails State Coalition events page lists a dozen.

Instead of highlighting a handful, we are providing links where you can find the events closest to you and best suited to your interests. The important thing is to simply get out and enjoy your trails this Saturday, June 1, National Trails Day.

• American Hiking Society (NTD events nationwide)
• AHS NTD events in Virginia
• AHS NTD events in North Carolina
• Virginia State Parks
• North Carolina State Parks
• Great Trails State Coalition

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For the uninitiated, National Trails Day is the first Saturday of June, and has been for at least three decades. Sponsored by the American Hiking Society, it’s a chance for us to officially celebrate the trails — hiking, biking, paddling, horsing around, whatever — that we unofficially celebrate every day. In the beginning, NTD was seen primarily as a day to blaze new trail and tidy up existing trail. There’s still a lot of that, but more and more it’s become a celebration of hiking, biking, paddling — of simply enjoying the trail.

There are hundreds of events nationwide in observance of National Trails Day, including 16 in North Carolina and 14 in Virginia. You can find a rundown of all North Carolina events here, all Virginia events here. Use the search function to find an event near you. Learn more about National Trails Day in general here.

Some highlights:

North Carolina

NC Trail Days in Elkin

Elkin

June 1-June 4

Elkin, located n the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, is North Carolina’s trail town and it takes the distinction seriously, especially come National Trails Day. Predictably, there are guided hikes throughout the region, from the MST to the Sauratown Trail to Stone Mountain, and guided paddle trips, too. There’s also live music, presentations, a quilt show … . Find the complete rundown here.

Year of the Trail Weekend Festival in Elizabeth City/Great Dismal Swamp

Elizabeth City

June 2-4

While Elkin celebrates the mountains, Elizabeth City celebrates the Great Dismal Swamp with paddle trips at Merchants Millpond, Sawyer’s Creek and Charles Creek; bike rides on the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail and on a network of roads penetrating the Great Dismal; and hikes at Merchants Millpond, Dismal Swamp State Park and in Elizabeth City. Learn more here.

Virginia

Troutville Trail Days

Troutville

June 3

An officially designated Appalachian Trail Trail Town, Troutville celebrates “all of the outdoor recreation the region has to offer.” That includes guided hikes on the AT and tubing, as well as music, artisans and an array of vendors. Learn more here.

Mile-a-Minute Invasive Plant Pull on Wild Oak Trail

Hankey Mountain 

This event involves running/hiking/biking/horseback riding on the Wild Oak National Recreation Area to the summit of Hankey Mountain to rid the area of the invasive Mile-a-Minute plant. Brink garden or work gloves, pants and a long-sleeve shirt recommended. Learn more here.

Lots of options. Get out and enjoy!

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Today, we highlight 5 National Trails Day events with particular promise.

• NC Trail Days, Elkin, yesterday through Sunday. Elkin, located smack dab on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, can’t contain its celebration to one day, let alone one type of trail or event. Hiking, mountain biking, paddling, running — they’re all covered as the town celebrates two nearby state parks (Stone Mountain and Pilot Mountain) and three big trails (MST, Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, Yadkin River Paddle Trail). Too many events to mention here, so we’ll simply refer you to the NC Trail Days home page, here.
• NTD Workday at Crowders Mountain, Saturday, 8:30 a.m. – noon, Crowders Mountain State Park, Kings Mountain. Ready to help improve some trail in the Charlotte area’s popular park? You’ll get a chance after gathering at the Sparrow Springs Access for refreshments, instructions and introduction of crew leaders. You’ll also be provided with water, snacks, work gloves, safety glasses, insect repellant and tools. Learn more here.
• Guided Hike at 12-Mile Creek Greenway, Saturday, 10 a.m., Waxhaw. Though the creek may be  12 miles, the hike is not. Rather, count on a 3- to 4-mile hike beginning and ending at H.C. Nesbit Park. Includes passage over a 170-foot suspension footbridge. Learn more here.
• Eno River Association extravaganza, Saturday, events at 8, 8:30, and 9 a.m. (two), and at 1 p.m. Birding, workdays and more. Learn more by checking out the Eno River Association calendar here.
• NTD Hike, Saturday, 9 a.m., Merchants Millpond State Park, Gatesville. Merchants Millpond is one of those state parks you’ve likely heard good things about, but haven’t visited because it’s tucked away in the remote northeast corner of the state. Saturday’s NTD Hike on the 2-mile Coleman Trail is a good excuse to make the journey. The hike is flat, easy, and exposes you to the junglelike setting of Merchants Millpond (bring bug spray!). Stick around afterward and enjoy more of the park. Maybe even rent a canoe ($10 per hour) and explore the millpond. Learn more here.

Looking for more?

To find additional events, check out:

• American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day event page, which lists 16 events in North Carolina. Find it here.
• North Carolina State Parks events page. Find it here.
• Virginia State Parks events page. Virginia has 33 NTD events planned at its state parks, some of which are just over the North Carolina state line). Find them here.

Explore with Us!

We’ve got a variety of summer programs and trips planned, starting with our first GetHiking! Summer Weekend Escape, which is next weekend on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail at Doughton Park. About 20 miles of hiking starting Friday evening and ending early afternoon Sunday. Learn more here. 

Learn about our other summer offerings at GetGoingNC.com, click on Explore with Us!

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A week from Saturday, June 4, the first Saturday in June, is National Trails Day. As it’s been since its inception in 1993, it’s a day set side for us to celebrate our nation’s trails at NTD-designated events, of which there are 368 nationwide.

Actually, that’s just the number of NTD events officially registered with sponsor the American Hiking Society. That does not, for instance, include five NTD events listed on the North Carolina State Parks website, or 27 events on the Virginia State Parks site.

Because not all events are officially registered, it’s difficult to say just how big National Trails Day is. On the celebration’s 20th anniversary in 2012, 2,000 events drew 157,000 participants. And in 2019, a “trail service world record” was set, with 1,164 events and 41,424 participants.

So how was a record set in 2019, when there were 116,000 more “participants” in 2012?

National Trails Day events come in two flavors: play and work. The majority of events celebrate trails with events hiking or paddling them (“blue” trails are also a part of National Trails Day). A smaller percentage involve work: trail building, for instance, or maintenance. Those would be the “trail service” events.

How important is that trail service work, the work of volunteers showing up with pickaxe and pulaski to build trail?

The majority of trails we hike are there because of volunteers. Volunteers play a big role in trail construction, and account for a huge percentage of trail maintenance. For example, in 2020, volunteers logged 27,497 hours of work on the trail. (Using a formula used by N.C. Parks that puts the hourly trail work rate at $27.30, that’s about a quarter of a million dollars in labor cost savings.)

What to expect

If you elect to do a National Trails Day Event, here’s what to expect, from both types of event:

Hiking. In general, these events are more of an introduction to hiking, aimed at beginners and the hiking curious. As such, the hikes tend to be short and slow-paced.There’s often an educational component as well, possibly about the basics of hiking, more often about nature. They usually last an hour or so. Difficulty level: easy

Trail work. Signing up to do a workday has so many benefits:

• You work with experienced trail builders and thus, can learn the ins and outs of how a trail comes to be.
• You get to learn new new tools. Not a chainsaw your first time out, but possibly a pickaxe or a pulaski. 
• Food. There’s typically food associated with workdays, maybe a breakfast to get you started, trail snacks to keep you going.
• Swag. Occasionally, if there’s a business sponsor involved, you’ll get swag, like a t-shirt or cap.

Work days are typically three hours and you will work, Difficulty: moderate to strenuous. You’ll likely be asked to wear sturdy boots ore shoes and bring gloves.

Where to find events

Here are your prime sources of events.

• American Hiking Society. For starters, check out the events registered with the AHS, here.
• As mentioned, North Carolina State Parks and Virginia State Parks have numerous events planned. 
• Land trusts. Check with your local land trust to see if they have an event planned. Find a list of land trusts here.
• County and municipal parks. 

So, busy June 4? We thought so.

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