Celebrate Trails Day

The fourth Saturday of April is quickly drawing more attention on people’s calendars. On this day each year is Celebrate Trails Day, an annual celebration of the nation’s trails. Started in 2013 by Rails to Trails Conservancy (RTC), this event grows in size each year. In 2024, over 20,000 people participated in the events held throughout the county. There were over 240 celebrations that were managed by 306 entities that were interested in bringing more attention to trails.

The annual event is the Conservancy’s way of bringing attention to the nation’s 41,000+ miles of trails and 150+ trail networks in development. It gets walkers, bikers, and users of other forms of Active Mobility out in recognition of the impact that trails have on their lives.

But Don’t Take My Word For It

Celebrate Trails Day is an ideal time to engage the community, but don’t take my word for it. Check out this video from the Rails to Trails Conservancy.

Ways to Celebrate Trails

There’s no one way to enjoy Celebrate Trails Day. The most common are self-directed trail outings or group events. Just promoting the day can start the ball rolling on interest on a yearly basis. But the day achieves its greatest chance at success with an organized event. You can organize a ride, a clean-up event along the trail, or a community festival that’s held at a trailhead or some other point along the way.

To make things easier, the Rails to Trails Conservancy has created a tool kit for event organizers. Just go to the Conservancy’s webpage for Celebrate Trails Day for more.

It may be too late this year to conjure up an organized community event for this year’s festivities. But it’s certainly not too late to bring awareness to the Day. So post to social media and then hop on your bike to enjoy trails along with several thousands of others across the nation!