National Trails Day
Radar Hill Hiking Club has organized a Saugatuck-Douglas-Laketown Trail Scramble in observation of National Trails Day on Saturday, June 5, 2021.
Between 10am-3pm pick up a trail card at the Saugatuck/Douglas Welcome Center on Blue Star Highway in Douglas and then go to any of the selected trails in our area where a volunteer will stamp your card at the trail head. After collecting 3 stamps, coupons on the back of the card become valid, providing special deals at area merchants. The Scramble ends at 4pm. Participants with 6 or more trail stamps can return to the Welcome Center and participate in a drawing for valuable prizes.
Local organizer, Chris Clark of Saugatuck Township says, "National Trails Day is about advocating for trails and promoting land conservation. There are more than twenty hiking trails within five miles of the Blue Star Bridge. The Scramble introduces visitors and local folks to some of the trails, and we hope it sparks interest in exploring the others.” Clark says that detailed information about local hiking trails is available online at RadarHill.Club/trails.
Other activities include:
- Take the Pledge
- Use #nationaltrailsday on social posts throughout the day
- Pledge to take action in 2021
- Learn more about the National Trails Day Pledge Here
- A project where volunteers will mark the trail at Huyser Farm Park.
- Guardian Brewing Company will offer four varieties of “Crows Nest Trail Ale” — one flavored with sassafras and the others aged with locally native wood.
- Four local governments endorse the day through proclamations.
- Saugatuck Douglas Area Convention and Visitors Bureau releases a new folding map of area hiking trails.
Sponsors include: Saugatuck Douglas Rotary Club, Scout Troop 333, Outdoor Discovery Center, Saugatuck Douglas Historical Society, Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy, Michigan Nature Association, Tri-Community Trail Master Plan, Laketown Township Parks, and Friends of the Blue Star Trail. Local businesses donating coupons and prizes for the event include Isabel’s Market and Eatery, Landsharks of Saugatuck, Guardian Brewing, Back Alley Pizza, Lakeshore Pet Boutique, and one more to be named.
National Trails Day was first observed in 1993 and each year there are as many as a thousand local observances across all fifty states. The American Hiking Society promotes the event, along with the National Parks Service and other partners. Commercial sponsors include REI, Popular Mechanics, and Athletic Brewing.