Upcoming Hiker Events

Connect with WTA

Our website, wta.org is a place for you to find information about local green spaces, updates on trails and moments of joy and inspiration. We hope you can connect with each other and to us on our social channels. Read past trip reports or share your own with the community.

In Person Events    

Redlining Heritage Trail Tour
Seattle
Saturdays, April-June, 2023 — 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 
Take a walk with the Wing Luke Museum to hear the stories of home, and to celebrate BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities that are currently and were historically marginalized in Seattle. Produced in partnership with the National Park Service and Northwest African American Museum, learn about housing exclusion and how Seattle communities came together to make change as we walk through the Chinatown-International District and Central District. You can read more about the Redlining Heritage Trail here. Approximate travel distance, 1 mile. Click here for more information and to register.

Rescue Me: Behind the Scenes of Search and Rescue
Seattle
May, 17th, 2023 — 6 p.m.
Rescue Me takes you behind the scenes of some of North America's riskiest search and rescue operations. Author Cathalynn Labonté-Smith shares real-life stories as told by volunteer members of Search and Rescue teams, who find the lost and rescue the injured in the most extreme conditions and situations the wilds of North America throw at them. This event is free to attend, though registration is required. We encourage all attendees to wear masks during the event and maintain social distancing.

Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest
Leavenworth 
May 18th-21st, 2023
The annual Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest promotes conservation through educational and recreational activities about birds, wildlife, and their environments. Come bird with us, discovering the natural beauty and wonders of North Central Washington! Take part in speaker events, music, visual arts, picnics, and activities for all ages and abilities. To learn more and register, click here.

Sundaes Outside
Seattle
May 28th, 2023 — 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Sundaes Outside: A Celebration of Black Folks is an event series celebrating nature, the Black community, and their various skills, artistry, talents, cuisines, cultural practices, and influences. Sunday family gatherings have been a staple in the Black community- from church to family dinners, and so much more. Sundaes Outside Series uses this day of relaxation and celebration to uplift Black contributions outdoors. This event is free, and will take place at Be’er Sheva Park. Registration is required. Please follow the link to register and learn more. 

Best Hikes in the Spokane Area
Spokane
June 3rd, 2023 — 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Join WTA in partnership with Spokane Libraries for an exploration of the best hikes within a day of Spokane. WTA staff member Holly Weiler will share details and photos of fun, beautiful, local trails and appropriate gear. We’ll also discuss tips for hiking with children and how to get involved and give back. This program is great for adults and older teens.

Best Hikes in the Spokane Area
Spokane
June 6th, 2023 — 6 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Join WTA in partnership with Spokane Libraries for an exploration of the best hikes within a day of Spokane. WTA staff member Holly Weiler will share details and photos of fun, beautiful, local trails and appropriate gear. We’ll also discuss tips for hiking with children and how to get involved and give back. This program is great for adults and older teens, and will be livestreamed on the library’s YouTube channel.

Washington Trails Day
Statewide
June 24th, 2023 
Gov. Jay Inslee officially proclaimed Washington Trails Day June 24th, 2023, and is a celebration of the power of hikers and WTA coming together to champion trails & public lands. In honor of this trail holiday, WTA invites everyone who loves the outdoors to join our advocate community, Trail Action Network (TAN). TAN is a statewide network, over 60,000 strong, that helps WTA accomplish huge wins for trails. When you sign up, you’ll be the first to know about opportunities to protect your favorite places. Look for us at trailheads across the state the weekend of June 24th, talking with hikers and celebrating trails!

Virtual opportunities 

Hike the State
Virtual
June 22nd, 2023 — 6-7 p.m.
Hike the State is a free annual event featuring recommendations from trail experts, stunning photos, giveaways and tips to inspire your next adventure. Join us online to hear from five staff about 15 of their favorite hikes around the state. We’ll also share plenty of resources for getting outside and staying connected with the hiking community. Whether you’re new to Washington, a seasoned hiker, looking for backpacking trips or planning your next day trip to a local park, Hike the State is for you!

Ongoing Activities

Walk With a Doc
Walk With a Doc is a global community where doctors go on short walks with patients and members of the public. Each walk kicks off with a short presentation on a health topic followed by a short walk through a local park. Currently these walks are virtual due to social distancing measures, but will return to in-person meet-ups as soon as it's safe to do so. Walks are held in Everett, Olympia, Yakima, Spokane and St. Helens Oregon. 

Personalized Outfitting with an REI Expert
Get expert advice from the comfort of your home with our virtual outfitters. Video chat with our team to get the next great piece of gear, advice for an upcoming adventure, or explore the possibilities of a new outdoor activity. Book a live appointment today and connect with our team right from your home. Appointments are available 7 days a week from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. PST. Free. 

Self-guided Forest Bathing
The Washington Park Arboretum has several great resources for visitors to practice forest bathing, an approach to mindfully enjoying nature. Learn about the practice, find resources and share your experience with others. 

Volunteer as an Adventure Scientist
Help collect tree samples for a database that will be used to catch illegal timber harvests. Volunteer hikers collect leaves, seeds and wood samples and send them in to be tested, then the timber industry is able to check the wood that comes through their mills against this data to determine if it was harvested from an area where logging is permitted. 

Participate in Bird Counts in Your Backyard or Beyond
Community science programs are central to the efforts of Audubon scientists. You, too, can be a volunteer scientist and help save populations of bird species around the world. Programs in which you can participate include Hummingbirds at Home, Christmas Bird Count, and the Great Backyard Bird Count.

Be a Citizen Archivist for the National Archive 
Add tags to photos from America's Scenic Byways to make this resource more searchable for the public. First you must register, then you can pick the type of archiving you want to do and get started. There are more opportunities here as well, like transcribing historical documents about the first U.S. roads and trails to be built in Alaska. 

Environmental Film Festival
Explore the collection of current and past festival films now available for streaming. The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital (DCEFF) is the world’s premier showcase of environmentally themed films.

They/Them
Patagonia’s new film They/Them is a documentary that follows climber and guide Lor Sabourin into the sandstone canyons of northern Arizona, on a journey to piece together one of the hardest and most inspiring routes of their life. By embracing the strength in vulnerability, Lor has found the space to thrive and build a climbing community that others like themself can call home.

Mapping Seattle's Historic Orchards 
Help identify historic fruit trees in your neighborhood that may be remnants of historic orchards. This project aims to identify and preserve these heirloom varieties still growing in Seattle. 

Living Snow Project
The Living Snow Project mobilizes volunteers to collect and submit samples of pink snow so researchers at Western Washington University can study the microbiome of creatures living in these environments. Anyone in the mountainous US can participate with a simple phone app and a sample kit that can be picked up or mailed to you. 

Story Time at the Miller Library
The Miller Library at UW's Botanic Garden presents monthly stories about gardens, plants and nature. Tune in anytime to watch a virtual reading of a new book each month. 

Monthly eBird surveys at Wenatchee River Institute
Join WRI's knowledgeable naturalists on a birding survey around the WRI Campus! eBird is the largest biodiversity-related community science project in the world. Participants will be utilizing it to record observations of local wild birds. Each event includes four 15-minute stationary bird counts for an hour of birding. Total walking distance is a half mile, over a gravel path with two moderate hills. All skill levels are welcome!

The Great Spokane Parks Challenge
Now through October 6, 2022
Visit 24 eligible parks by the deadline and document your trips for a chance to win a prize. The first 70 people to complete the challenge will receive a daypack, and a donation will be made on your behalf to the Parks Foundation. Register in advance. 

OTHER Local & Amazing hiking communities

• PNW Outdoor Womens Group
• Inland Northwest Hiker
• Washington Hikers and Climbers
• NW Hikers Forum
• Refuge Outdoor Festival
• The Venture Out Project
• TrailKat
• Snowshoe Mount Spokane
• Get Out Fest

We also keep a list of many other local meet up groups and networks. While you might not be able to connect in person, you might find their online community is someplace you'd like to spend some time.

Explore these accounts and podcasts

• by land podcast - Hunter and backpacker Emory Wanger began By Land as a way to share his personal journey in the outdoors so others can learn from his time in the field, and to bridge gaps between outdoor communities.
• Cascade Hiker Project podcast - inspiring you to get out on the trail. Interviews make the show feel like a radio channel dedicated to hikes and backpacks.
• Dirtbag Diaries podcast - Climb. Ski. Hike. Bike. Paddle. Run. Travel. Whatever your passion, we are all dirtbags. Outdoor writer Fitz Cahall and the Duct Tape Then Beer team present stories about the dreamers, athletes and wanderers.
• For the Wild podcast - an anthology of the Anthropocene; focused on land-based protection, co-liberation and intersectional storytelling rooted in a paradigm shift away from human supremacy, endless growth and consumerism.
• Outdoorsy Diva - Traveler, foodie, outdoor lover, & single mom featured in Huffpo Travel, BBC Earth Podcast, and listed as one of the top Black travel bloggers on the planet. 
• Outside Voices - inspired by one idea: the outdoors belongs to all of us. We all have a relationship to nature, whether through hiking, gardening, sacred ceremony or gathering at the local park. We aim to celebrate and amplify those who don’t always see themselves reflected in the “Great Outdoors” narrative.
• She Explores podcast - interviews, in-the-field recordings and listener submissions make up a tapestry of episodes covering themes such as solo hiking and camping; entrepreneurship; aging; diversity, equity and inclusion; conservation; motherhood; chronic illness, and feminism as they intersect with outdoor experiences.
• The Joy Trip Project - James Edward Mills' ongoing search to discover how to lead a harmonious life in balance with the natural world and the rest of humanity. 
• THE WILD podcast - explores how nature survives and thrives alongside (and often despite) humans. Taking listeners across the Pacific Northwest and around the world, host Chris Morgan explores wildlife and the complex web of ecosystems they inhabit. He also tells the stories of people working in and protecting the wild around us.
• thewildpod on Instagram - Get back to nature with surprising stories of wonder and resilience from the world of wildlife with ecologist @chrismorganwildlife

If you have a suggestion for the Hiker Events Calendar, please email the details and a link to Nicole Masih-Theberge at nmasihtheberge@wta.org