National Trails Day: Volunteers Show Up in Service of Trails

On any given summer weekend, you'll find Washington Trails Association volunteer crews working hard on trails around the state. But last Saturday was a little special; it was National Trails Day, a day celebrated around the country in service to trails.

Besides the amazing volunteers who devoted their sunny weekend to improving trails, we also celebrated partners old and new.

Community and trail crews gathered at Lake Whatcom Park. Photo by Anna Roth

Communities come together for trails

In Lake Whatcom Park, we joined many of our partners in kicking off what will be 90+ miles of new trails for hikers, bikers and equestrians. The project was made possible by several years of work by a community committee of land managers, trail organizations and local recreationists. Since 2015, WTA has represented hikers' voices on the committee. And now, with help from volunteers, we get to help make the trail plan become a reality.

A new trail beginning to take shape at Lake Whatcom Park. Photo by Anna Roth

A hardworking crew in the Olympics improved a trail running along the Dungeness River, and on the opposite side of the state, a Spokane-based crew accepted a grant from our friends and longtime supporters of our work, REI Coop.

Another longtime partner, Mount Rainier National Park, played host to a volunteer crew along the White River. Volunteers Angelina and Nick blogged about their experience, wrapping things up by saying: "The day was a lot of hard work and consumed about 7 hours on a Saturday, but it was completely worth it!"

The hardworking crew outside Spokane were all volunteers, but they did accept a grant from one of our longtime funders, REI Coop. Photo by Holly Weiler.

We joined a new partner, the City of Seattle Parks Department, in Schmitz Park Preserve at a special kind of work party geared towards youth and families. The urban location allowed a few of the volunteers to walk to the work party, situated in a secret stand of old growth forest in West Seattle.

Thank you to all of the volunteers who gave a day to trails, on National Trails Day and every day. Interested in volunteering? Find a work party that works for you.