Saturday is National Trails Day. OK, every day is trails day, or at least it should be. But things get in the way of us honoring trails on a daily basis, so for the last 40 years or so we’ve set aside the first Saturday in June to make sure there’s at least one day we won’t forget about our trails.
Tag Archives: Virginia
104 New Year’s Day Hikes (and that’s just in state parks)
If you live in North Carolina or Virginia you have only yourself to blame if your year gets off to a sluggish start. The two states combined have more than 100 First Day Hikes planned, from New Year’s Eve hikes at Virginia’s Natural Tunnel and Pocahontas state parks, to late day hikes in both states for folks who might not feel like getting out of bed early New Year’s morning.
Saturday is National Trails Day; Here’s where to Celebrate
Saturday is National Trails Day, that time every year (the first Saturday in June), when we celebrate trails, by hiking them, biking them, paddling them, creating and maintaining them.
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.
First Day, First Hike
The question isn’t if you’ll be taking your first hike of 2024 on Monday, but where.
Taking a brisk hike to welcome the new year is a long-standing tradition. It became formalized a few years back when American State Parks challenged state parks across the country to hold First Day events. Today, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a state park in the U.S. that doesn’t hold a First Day Hike. That’s especially true in North Carolina and Virginia, where 113 First Day events are planned in state parks; some parks are even celebrating with two or three events.
Long hikes for a cold winter’s day
The best thing about hiking on a cold winter’s day? You can hike forever.
For starters, the cold itself is good incentive to keep moving. And the more you move down the trail the more you realize what a magical time of year this is in the woods. Winter’s sunlight knifes bright through a leafless canopy, illuminating a forest floor littered with coppery leaves. Somehow, those gray tree trunks manage to evoke a sparkle. Winter’s dry air cranks up the volume the season’s quiet. It’s an experience you don’t want prematurely ended on a 3-mile trail.