National Trails Day Hike

Scouts from Troop 446 (Saline), myself, a dog
and one Brownie hiked 6.2 miles in 2015
as part of the first Iron Belle Trail Hike.

June 4, 2016 is National Trails Hike Day and the country’s largest celebration of trails! Events will take place in every state across the country and will include hikes, biking and horseback rides, paddling trips, birdwatching, geocaching, gear demonstrations, stewardship projects and more. If you are interested, you should see what events are available in your area.

Ann Arbor Area Hiking Events:

Stewardship Work Day - Bird Hills Nature Area
Volunteer Work Day - County Farm Park
National Trails Day - Waterloo Recreation Area
Hike It Baby - Nichols Arboretum
National Trails Day Hike - West Lake Preserve

Last year, my scout troop participated in the inaugural Iron Belle Challenge hike which we are doing again this year. In fact, my son will be in the Ann Arbor area hiking with Boy Scout Troop 446 (Saline) while I am in Mackinaw City hiking the same trail at the same time with Girl Scout Troop 76032 (Belleville). How is that possibly you ask?

The Iron Belle Trail continuously runs from Belle Aisle to Ironwood Michigan (hence the name) and covers some of the more scenic parts of the state. Some of the trails even connect with parts of the larger North Country Trail. In 2015 scouts from around Michigan hiked over 14,000 miles on the trail on the same day in an attempt to hike the entire trail in one day! Scouts who participated received a special patch.

This year the hike will be bigger and better too and will be held on National Trails Hike Day. To participate in this hiking event, interested Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts should contact Raymond Rustem at 517-284-6070 or rustemr@michigan.gov to participate.