National Trails Day • Twin Cities Outdoors

The American Hiking Society (AHS) sponsors National Trails Day every year, the first Saturday of June. In 2022, that day is June 4th.

The AHS encouraged all hikers and other participants to Join the Pledge to improve a trail by:

Packing out trash…
Joining a trail work project, or…
Cleaning up a park

In other words: Leave the trail better than you found it!

Where to go in the Twin Cities

Here are suggestions of parks in TCO land that have the best non-paved trails systems:

Bunker Hills Regional Park in Anoka County
Carver Park Reserve in Carver County
Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Dakota County
Whitetail Woods Regional Park in Dakota County
Elm Creek Park Reserve in Hennepin County
Hyland Park Reserve in Hennepin County
Lake Rebecca Park Reserve in Hennepin County
Fort Snelling State Park in Ramsey County
Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve in Scott County
Afton State Park in Washington County
Lake Elmo Park Reserve in Washington County
William O’Brien State Park in Washington County

If you have young children, maybe you’ll want a paved trail for strollers, though. In that case, almost every park listed on Twin Cities Outdoors will work for you!

Make a day of it

Plan it as a family outing, grab a group of hiking friends (and non-hiking friends that need to be introduced to hiking), or join one of the planned hikes others are planning (click here to find a National Trails Day event close to you).

Pack a cooler in your car and have a picnic lunch at the park when you’re done hiking. Or if it’s hot that day, hit a beach afterwards.

You should also know that the AHS doesn’t limit National Trails Day to hikers! Bikers, paddlers, horseback riders…are welcome. The more people caring for our trails, the better! Focus on having fun, and pick up trash while you do.

Share Your Trail Adventure

American Hiking Society wants you to share your National Trails Day adventure (photos and stories) with:

#NationalTrailsDay
@AmericanHiking on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

AHS even sells tees and hoodies in honor of National Trails Day (of course they do!). See your choices here (it says 2019, but the merch isn’t dated, so it’s good for 2022, too!).

Need trail ideas? Check out our Twin Cities Guide series!

Sharon Brodin

Founder & Publisher of Twin Cities Outdoors at Brodin Press LLC

Sharon loves to hike, paddle, camp, snowshoe and cross country ski...and she bikes sometimes, too! Besides maintaining Twin Cities Outdoors and her other blog, Heaven and Nature, Sharon works on client writing and design projects.