Many of West Virginia’s state parks are open daily year-round and afford visitors a plethora of winter hiking trails to choose from. Plus, admission at the majority of the parks is gratis. If the snow flies, most of the winter hiking trails double as cross country and snowshoeing trails. Here’s a list: Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park Blackwater Falls...
Learn MoreHenry David Thoreau had it right. “This was a cold, clear lake with scarcely a plant in it, of perhaps half an acre, and from a low ridge east of it was a fine view up the ravine,” he wrote. That came from his journal of July 9, 1858, a year when Thoreau hiked Mounts Washington, Lafayette and Monadnock. Many have followed in his footsteps, barebooting it...
Learn MoreThe partnership for the Graysville Mountain Acquisition worked together for over two years to achieve this milestone that helps complete the 300-mile Cumberland Trail State Scenic Trail, which starts in Cumberland Gap National Park on the Kentucky/Virginia/Tennessee border and stretches south to the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park just outside Chattanooga,...
Learn MoreA flock of colorful monarch butterfly pins has landed at Peninsula State Park. The monarch pins are available through Peninsula’s Like to Hike program. First established in 2001, Like to Hike promotes silent sports such as hiking, which enhances health and resource appreciation. Over the past decade, Like to Hike pins have featured the pelican, the pileated...
Learn MoreIt has taken almost half a year, but the National Forest Service has decided to use a boardwalk to restore a popular path taken out of commission by the fall of two giant sequoia trees last September. The Forest Service went through a lengthy public consultation process to determine what to do about the ruined portion of about 100 feet of trail within the Trail of 100...
Learn MoreThousands of dedicated volunteers have sharpened their skills on trail stewardship projects hosted by American Hiking Society’s Volunteer Vacations. Volunteer crews provide their sweat equity to assist understaffed and underfunded federal, state, and local land agencies and organizations to keep America’s trails safe and accessible. Our nation’s trails...
Learn MoreThe Wolf River Greenway in Memphis will connect to the Germantown Greenway this summer – making it the first time two cities will be joined in Shelby County with an off-road paved trail for joggers, walkers and bicyclists. Once the two projects meet and are open, residents will be able to travel close to five miles along the Wolf River and then continue on the...
Learn MoreThe Iron Goat Trail is a rail-to-trial conversion along the old Great Northern Railway grade within the Stevens Pass Historic District in Washington State. Since 1990 volunteers have transformed this abandoned railway bed into a 10-mile hiking trail. Families, tourists, organized groups, rail fans and hikers of all abilities tread through lovely forests of ferns, alders...
Learn MoreJanuary 2012 marks the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s 3rd annual Volcano Awareness Month and its 100 year anniversary. In honor of Volcano Awareness Month, the Hawai‘i Volcanoes Institute presents “Footprints Trail to Mauna Iki,” a guided geological hike in the Ka‘u Desert. The event takes place in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park on Sunday, January 29 from 8:30 a.m. to...
Learn MoreIn 1821, the Santa Fe Trail became America’s first great international commercial highway, and for nearly sixty years thereafter was one of the nation’s great routes of adventure and western expansion. Mindful of this, the Santa Fe Trail Association (SFTA), a non-profit association with a 501 (c)(3) status, was created in 1986 to help protect and preserve it....
Learn MoreParkVisitor.com, an attractive new online portal for outdoor enthusiasts and experts, made its debut at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market show sponsored by the Outdoor Industry Association. Built and powered by those who know and love the parks best – outdoor enthusiasts and experts – the website features valuable, free information about nearly 5,000 U.S....
Learn MoreMaricopa County, AZ is home to one of the largest regional park systems in the United States. Ten parks in the system circle the Phoenix metropolitan area, preserving approximately 120,000 acres. For many Maricopa County residents, the cooler temperatures bring about a desire to get outside and reconnect with nature. This year, outdoor enthusiasts have access to...
Learn MoreA few years ago, John Keyrouz fled the fast lane in Los Angeles and returned to Lebanon. When he ventured into the mountains to relive fond childhood hiking memories, he was astounded to discover a world class trail system that transects 75 towns and villages and 275 miles of breathtaking mountain scenery. Besieged with a desire to uplift the country’s rural poor through...
Learn MoreThe shoes of Kirk and Cindy Sinclair have tasted the deserts of Utah and Nevada, the Garden of the Gods wilderness and the trails of the Appalachians. Now they are sampling the alluvial soils of Southwestern Indiana. The Norfolk, Conn., couple set out on May 25, 2011, from Point Reyes, Calif., on a more than 5,000-mile journey and mission to spread awareness of...
Learn MoreAs hiker displeasure with the closure of a portion of the popular Bump and Grind trail continues to simmer, another trail closure controversy has erupted in the mountains above Palm Desert, California. The federal Bureau of Land Management last week installed a sign prohibiting dogs on the uppermost half-mile of the Hopalong Cassidy trail to where a well-known landmark,...
Learn MoreYou don’t need a fancy GPS device to help you go “Hittin’ the Trails”. If you have a cell phone, there are some free apps for that! Here’s a few of the best hiking apps for iPhone and Android. AlpineQuest for Android is an app that features detailed topographic maps, which you can load up whether you have service or not. It also has a nice...
Learn MoreThe Bureau of Land Management will host free guided hikes to look for wintering bald eagles in the Cache Creek Natural Area in Lake County on Saturdays in January and February. Hikes will be held, Jan. 21 and 28, and Feb. 4, 11, 18 and 25. Hikes will be canceled in rainy weather. Those interested in participating should reserve space for a specific date by calling the...
Learn MoreJanuary 21 is the date for 2012 Annual Winter Hike. The six-mile trek from Old Man’s Cave to Ash Cave draws thousands of hikers each year to experience southeast Ohio’s most spectacular scenery. The hike features continuous starts from 9-11 a.m. Hot bean soup is served midway at Cedar Falls for a donation and a shuttle bus will return hikers from Ash Cave to...
Learn MoreIt’s not the Golden Gate Bridge or the golf course at the Ritz-Carlton; it’s not Pebble Beach or the Monterey Bay Aquarium. When it comes to the sweetest attractions in coastal northern California, try getting off the beaten path for some under-the-radar hiking on trails that are truly spectacular. These three hikes lie along the ever-popular Pacific Coast...
Learn MoreDuke Energy agreed in a legal settlement to retire more than 1,600 megawatts of old coal-fired power plants, making enforceable the shutdown plans Duke had previously revealed. The settlement removes the last legal challenges to Duke’s newest N.C. coal-fired unit, at the Cliffside plant in Rutherford County about 60 miles west of Charlotte. The Environmental...
Learn MoreThe Tennessee State Parks system is celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2012. The Tennessee State Parks system was established through legislation in 1937, and those laws – with modifications and additions over the years – remain the framework for park operations today. As in most states, it was state cooperation with federal programs that instigated...
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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