"National Trails Day" Is Coming June 4th!
We all love to walk the thousands of trails that take us into beautiful places…along a mountain ridge...
An urban pathway that carries us across a city...
Along a lovely beach at sunset...
“June 4, 2016 is American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day®, the country’s largest celebration of trails. National Trails Day events will take place in every state across the country and will include hikes, biking and horseback rides, paddling trips, bird watching, geocaching, gear demonstrations, stewardship projects and more”. This is a great day to lace-up your shoes, grab your camera and head out for an adventure along a trail.
I did a search for specific hiking events on June 4th within 100 miles of Seattle and came up with some great activities. One of these may be worth experiencing. Or you can do your own search that fits closer to home by just changing the search parameters. This site is a really good resource to find lots of events anytime you want to do a unique hike.
Many trails are built with huge community effort and have a great story to tell. One such trail is the McLane School and Forest Trail in Thurston County, Washington. We are doing a special “Shout Out” to recognize this amazing project that a group of citizens and an elementary school took on to learn about nature, develop a lasting heritage for their community, and create a well-used urban pathway for all ages in the community to use. You can read all about this community effort by checking out this link to a report that documented the work to create this learning environment.
On May 19th, the Thurston County officials, hundreds of schoolkids, and many community members and volunteers came together to honor the man that started it all.
Washington State’s long-time Secretary of State Ralph Munro has been a huge supporter of joining trails together to open up regions to safe and lovely pathways to walk, ride bikes, and enjoy connected communities. The McLane School and Forest Trail began in the 1990s and has become big part of each school year for the students.
Every fall, Ralph Munro and the school children do a bulb planting project to make beautiful pathways in the Meadow. They have also planted literally hundreds of trees to help the forest grow and stay healthy. There are paths that are paved so bikes, strollers, and little feet can run in the forest.
The community has dedicated part of this lovely project to bear the name of “Munro Meadow” in thanks for all the work he has done to preserve the nature and heritage of Washington State. CameraWalking wants to extend our gratitude to Ralph and all the amazing volunteers that have made this wonderful trail and forest project possible!
Community projects truly make a difference by allowing people’s visions to become a reality for the use and joy of generations to come. We love to find new pathways to explore! If you have a vision, share it among your friends and your community. Take a chance at creating a legacy…you will never regret it!
Have a great time on a trail next weekend. Be sure to pause along the way and take some pictures to share with us on our CameraWalking Facebook site. We love to see where your camera takes you!!!
