Protect the Future of Trails with WTA

This past weekend, hikers across the state showed up not only to hike and enjoy the outdoors but also to celebrate Washington Trails Day and support the places they love!

Hundreds of people signed on to protect the future of Washington trails — taking essential action to ensure our trails are thriving for generations to come.

Volunteers stay in the shade while tabling for Washington Trails Day at Riverside State Park. Photo by Todd Dunfield. 

This year, WTA volunteers were stationed at Point Defiance, Lake 22, Staircase Rapids, Riverside State Park and Samish Overlook trailheads — sharing WTA resources with hikers, chatting with them about recreating responsibly and inviting them to join us in taking action to celebrate Washington Trails Day. 

Barbara Pine was volunteering at Point Defiance. When asked what stood out to her during her volunteering, she said, “It wasn't so much what people said about the petition and why they signed that struck me, but rather it was the look of pleasure when trails and public lands were mentioned. So many smiles and happy nods.”

Other volunteers noted that many hikers were compelled to act based on their faith in WTA alone. They were familiar with the great work WTA does to maintain trails, provide resources to hikers and act on behalf of our public lands. They trusted our work and wanted to support it.

Despite the heat, plenty of folks made it out on trail this weekend. “[A] highlight for me was seeing the demographic of folks using the trail over the course of the day. We had everything from a father and son duo hiking with training weight for a Rainier attempt soon to a moms group with wee babies on board to loads of new to the area folks — tech industry people out for the weekend with friends/co-workers, couples with dogs, out of state visitors, military personnel on weekend hikes alone or with their families, multigenerational family groups, and tons of smiles,” noted Emily Snyder, who tabled at Lake 22. 

Folks show their support for trails by signing on before their hike. Photos by Nicole Masih-Theberge and Pat Limberg.

Leading the way with you

It is no surprise that so many people care about protecting the future of our trails. A core reason behind Washington’s leadership in outdoor recreation is the power of Washington’s trail advocates. Over 90% of people in our state recreate outdoors, and this shows up in how loved our trails are. WTA relies on the passion of people like you to show up for the trails we love. 

This energy for the outdoors sustains the work that WTA and our state’s leaders do. Earlier this year, WTA played a critical role in pushing big wins through our state legislature — wins that brought millions of dollars to recreation and trails and expanded opportunities for more diverse representation in the outdoor-recreation sector. Washington’s governor, Jay Inslee, has long been a supporter of outdoor recreation and getting youth outside, including bringing more money to environmental education that helps middle schoolers experience the great outdoors in our state. 

Our love for Washington’s trails is huge, and trails need support that is just as big. The maintenance and operations backlog on our public lands is still millions of dollars. As more people discover the joy of our trails, the capacity to steward the land must increase. 

That’s why we called on hikers this Washington Trails Day to encourage the governor to continue his great work in supporting public lands by making investments that will protect trails for years to come. Join us and hundreds of others in sharing this message with our state leadership!

Volunteers at Point Defiance ready to chat with hikers. Photo by Allie Tripp.

Help WTA help trails

Many hikers and outdoor advocates took action for trails by supporting WTA this Washington Trails Day. Nearly one hundred people had their donations doubled by a generous match this Washington Trails Day, resulting in over $12,000 donated to WTA. WTA works day-in and day-out to maintain our state’s trails, provide hiking resources and engage people with opportunities to support our public lands. WTA works to steward trails for everyone, forever — and supporting our work means giving back to the trails you love.

It’s not too late to support Washington's trails! Sign our petition now to show your support.