DOI News

Let’s Move Outside! Celebrating National Trails Day

06/01/2012

This week, along with Director of the National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis, I announced that we’re designating 54 new water and land trails across the nation as National Recreation Trails. With this recognition, we’re adding almost 1,400 miles to the National Trails System that already travels more than 13,650 miles across our great country. Spanning 23 states, these new trails are making it easier to communities to get outside and get active.

From Alaska to Alabama, these trails link up communities of all sizes - rural and urban alike – and provide opportunities for Americans to connect with the wonders and benefits of America’s Great Outdoors. At Interior, we’re proud to partner with citizens to support these new National Recreation Trails.

Saturday, June 2nd, is National Trails Day. To celebrate, people from all over the country are joining together to enjoy and improve their local trails. National Recreation Trails not only connect people and communities to the great outdoors, but they also provide opportunities for healthy living, a key component of the First Lady’s Let’s Move Outside! program.

Let’s Move Outside! is about putting our children on a path to more active and healthy lifestyles so we can end the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation. What better way to get outside and get healthy than by hiking, biking, and paddling along one of our great nature and water trails?

As we approach National Trails Day, I encourage you to look up a local event, grab a friend or family member, and join in the hikes, educational programs, bike rides, trail rehabilitation projects, festivals, paddle trips, and trail dedications that are taking place in your community. A listing of activities is available at http://www.americanhiking.org/national-trails-day/.