We Fix 'Em, You Hike 'Em: 8 Trails WTA Has Already Refreshed in 2020

WTA works year round to ensure that hikers always have somewhere to stretch their legs and enjoy some time in nature, whether it's your local park, your favorite go-to day hike or a deep backcountry route.

For our trail maintenance program, that means work parties all through winter. And we have been busy this month. We kicked off 2020 by breaking ground on brand new trails and continuing work on dozens of other trails. We even had a ribbon-cutting — broadening a trail network trail for hikers to enjoy! 

The crew at Gold Creek County Park ready for the ribbon-cutting, smiling despite the rainy day on trail. Photo by Nate Schmidt. 

Mid-January, a youth and families work party opened a few trails in Gold Creek County Park. We've been building a more sustainable network of trails here, and with the opening of these new routes, hikers have better options for exploring this nearby greenspace.

Also in the Puget Sound area, our work at Tolt-MacDonald Park is winding town thanks to days of hard work from volunteers there. The Rabbit Run and Shinglewood Trails saw TLC from volunteers, and a brand-new loop — the Crosscut — is now available for hikers to enjoy. We're also getting close to finishing a new loop at Squak Mountain on the Chybinksi Trail. 

As soon as one project ends we're on to the next one. Find us at Cougar Mountain after Chybinksi is finished. We'll be working on the Wilderness Trail.

We're improving trail networks elsewhere, too. This month, crews made progress on a new 2-mile loop at Lyle Cherry Orchard, and continued our work at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, where we're transforming a former mud pit into a much more manageable trail for visitors. And the day after New Years, we broke ground on a new trail in the Yacolt Burn State Forest, building 3 sturdy switchbacks in just one day.

Further north, volunteers on the Peninsula returned to building a new trail at Striped Peak, which will eventually link up with the popular Salt Creek Campground, and in Mount Vernon, WTA crews continued making the trails at Little Mountain Park a joy to hike.