Join us for the following National Scenic and Historic Trail events to celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service:
April
Organization: Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Trail: Appalachian National Scenic Trail
Event: Flip Flop Festival
Date: April 16
Location: Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia
Website: www.appalachiantrail.org/events
Overview: Learn about and experience great ways to begin a hike in scenic, historic Harpers Ferry, whether doing a day-hike or beginning a thru-hike of the entire Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
This event was held in 2015 with the primary purpose of promoting alternatives to a northbound Georgia-start Appalachian Trail thru-hike, which has become so popular that overcrowding is an issue for those starting in March and early April. Starting thru-hikes mid-Trail a little later actually offers hikers some real benefits. Last year’s Flip Flop Festival event was very successful, with more than 30 thru-hikers starting during the festival, and a dramatic increase in the number of thru-hikers adopting alternative itineraries.
This year, the event will expand to focus on the wonderful day-hike opportunities that Harpers Ferry area offers and the multi-day hikes available on the Appalachian Trail starting from Harpers Ferry. We will also offer activities for kids, and include more Leave No Trace and basic hiking education.
May
Organization: Chesapeake Conservancy
Trail: Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
Event: “100” in Kayaks
Date: May 7th, 2016
Location: Sandy Point State Park – Annapolis, Maryland
Website: www.chesapeakeconservancy.org / http://bit.ly/1N9pPcA
Overview: The Chesapeake Paddlers Association and Chesapeake Conservancy invite kayakers to help celebrate the National Park Service 100th anniversary. Participants will spell out “100” in kayaks off Sandy Point with the Bay Bridge in the background for an aerial photo.
Trail: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
Event: Adventure, Danger, and Everyday Life on the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
Date: May 21, 2016 10 AM – 2 PM
Location: Gutiérrez-Hubbell House, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Website: www.nps.gov/elca // http://gutierrezhubbellhouse.org/
Overview: The Gutierrez Hubbell House History & Cultural Center will host the grand opening of its newest exhibit with many exciting educational activities. The exhibit itself, entitled “Ciboleros, Comancheros and the People Back Home: Buffalo Hunters, Explorers and Community Life in the Spanish and Mexican period,” will intrigue with glimpses into a part of NM history not well known. The free family event will feature many demonstrations including sheep herding and shearing, spinning, weaving and dyeing, as well as food and music.
June
Organization: Connecticut Forest & Park Association
Trail: New England National Scenic Trail
Event: Trails Day New England National Scenic Trail Centennial Hikes
Date: June 4 & 5, 2016
Location: Along the Connecticut portion of the New England National Scenic Trail (NET)
Website: http://www.ctwoodlands.org/ct-trails-weekend
Overview: All Trails Day events on the NET in Connecticut in 2016 will celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service. A range of hikes will be offered.
Organization: El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association
Trail: El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail
Event: El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail – NPS Centennial Celebration at McKinney Falls State Park
Date: June 4, 2016
Location: McKinney Falls State Park – Austin, Texas
Website: www.facebook.com/elcaminorealdelostejas
Overview: The El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association will host a Centennial Celebration to coincide with National Trails Day on June 4, highlighting the park’s place on the El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail. Park visitors may be familiar with the worn path on the limestone slab headed toward the namesake falls, but contrary to popular belief, it didn’t originate with modern-day hikers and swimmers—it’s a swale, or rut carved in the limestone over hundreds of years by travelers on the El Camino Real. Settler and horse breeder Thomas McKinney built his homestead in the 1840s next to where the trail crosses Onion Creek, leaving behind the stone ruins that can be seen along the park’s Homestead Trail today.
Organization: North Country Trail Association
Trail: North Country National Scenic Trail
Event: National Trails Day along the North Country Trail
Date: June 4, 2016
Location: Trailwide
Website: northcountrytrail.org
Overview: The North Country Trail Association Chapters will be holding local events and hikes along the North Country Trail.
Organization: Natchez Trace Parkway Association
Trail: Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail
Event: National Trails Day on the Natchez Trace
Date: June 4, 2016
Location: Garrison Creek — Franklin, Tennessee
Website: http://bit.ly/23IGqIC
Overview: (Tennessee Chapter Trails Project) Join the Natchez Trace Parkway Association in partnership with REI and the NPS for National Trails Day along the Natchez Trace. This project will take place along the Highland Rim section and include trail maintenance work, hikes, education, and more.
Organization: Oregon-California Trails Association
Trail: Oregon-California National Historic Trails
Event: Dedication of the 1925 Avard Fairbanks Bronze Medallion
Date: Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at 3 PM
Location: Jackson County Courthouse — Independence, MO
Website: www.octa-trails.org
Overview: The dedication of the Avard Fairbanks 1925 Oregon Trail bronze medallion (the original design was first unveiled in Eugene, Oregon on April 14, 1924, with the first placement occurring at Baker City, Oregon on July 4, 1925) will take place at the Truman Courthouse. The award-winning Independence Nowlin Middle School choir will be on hand, and the local Boy Scout troop will handle the flag ceremony. Additional event items may include a Truman reenactor, as well as a covered wagon with mules and possibly a second wagon with oxen.
Organization: Santa Fe Trail Association & Oregon-California Trails Association
Trail: Santa Fe, Oregon, and California National Historic Trails
Event: Bridging the Community: The Dedication of the Powder Mill Bridge
Date: June 9, 2016 at 10 AM
Location: Kansas City, Missouri (Bannister Road at I-435 NE Corner)
Overview: The dedication of the newly completed pedestrian bridge, which is the longest span across a major federal highway in the United States solely dedicated to the three National Historic Trails, will take place. The keynote speaker for the event will be given by Director McKenna of MoDot
Organization: National Pony Express Association
Trail: Pony Express National Historic Trail
Event: 2016 Pony Express Re-ride
Date: June 15-25, 2016
Location: Pony Express NHT, Sacramento, California to St. Joseph, Missouri
Website: www.xphomestation.com
Overview: The 2016 Pony Express reride will cover the duration of the Pony Express National Historic Trail on horseback. Approximately 500 horses and riders will relay a mail pouch from Sacramento, CA, to St. Joseph, MO, in 10 days.
July
Trail: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
Event: 9th Annual ¡Viva México! Celebration
Date: July 16 and 17 2016, 10 AM – 4 PM
Location: El Rancho de las Golondrinas, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Website: https://golondrinas.org/festivals/viva-mexico-celebration/ // www.nps.gov/elca
Overview: The celebration of the culture, cuisine, and crafts of our colorful neighbor. Throughout the weekend activities and events will explore the influences of Mexico on historical and current northern New Mexico traditions.
Organization: Lewis and Clark Trust, Inc.
Trail: Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Event: Lewis and Clark Seminar for Teachers
Date: July 17-23, 2016
Location: University of Montana — Missoula, Montana
Website: www.gilderlehrman.org/program-exhibitions/2016-teachers-seminar
Overview: The six day seminar will focus on the Lewis and Clark Story and its impact on the US & World in 1803-1809, as well as today. Led by noted Western Scholar and author Dr. Elliott West and other knowledgeable Lewis and Clark scholars, the coast to coast epoch is taught from the recorded records and the oral story of the Tribal People that met Lewis and Clark. Teachers interested in this no cost seminar should visit the event website.
This is the Third Annual Seminar. Each year 25 or more highly motivated teachers return to their respective classrooms across the Nation prepared to use the Lewis and Clark Story and values in their respective grade level. Gilder Lehrman Professionals attend the seminar and assist the teachers in development of lesson plans that integrate with their school district requirements. When the teachers finish the seminar they are prepared.
This year will feature a segment on the Medicines of Lewis and Clark both Euro and Tribal. There will also be special evening event focused on the NPS Centennial and the Service’s contributions to tourism along the trail.
Organization: Nez Perce Trail Foundation (NPTF)
Trail: Nez Perce National Historic Trail
Event: NPTF Summer Educational Trail Tour
Date: July 30-August 7, 2016
Location: Begins at Yellowstone Park, Wyoming traveling northerly to Bears Paw (Chinook) Montana
Website: www.nezpercetrail.net
Overview: The 2016 Trail Tour begins at Yellowstone Park, Wyoming and follows the actual or approximate route of the Nez Perce National Historic Trail to Bear’s Paw, Montana. This is an historic, memorial Trail journey of the non-treaty Nez Perce that were fleeing towards Canada to reach freedom.
Participants must have their own transportation and camping equipment. Young adults and children with adult supervision are also encouraged to participate. Optional Adult Educational Credits offered through MSUN.
August
Organization: Ice Age Trail Alliance
Trail: Ice Age National Scenic Trail
Event: Saunter Like Muir – A Discovery of Self and Landscape
Date: August 6th, 2016
Location: John Muir County Park – Marquette Co, Wisconsin
Website: www.iceagetrail.org
Overview: This event will be a celebration of the centennial hosted by the National Park Service and Ice Age Trail Alliance. The day will be a culminating event for the IATA’s Saunters program – designed to engage youth on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. During the August 6th event there will be multiple learning sessions, keynote presentations and an open air art exhibit featuring work by Saunters students. This artwork will be displayed around, Ennis Lake (Muir referred to this lake as Fountain Lake in his writings) and the boyhood home of John Muir. The works will be reflective of what youth learned about John Muir, the Wisconsin landscape and how their understanding of both shaped them.
September
Organization: North Country Trail Association
Trail: North Country National Scenic Trail
Event: National North Country National Scenic Trail Day
Date: September 24, 2016
Location: Trailwide
Website: northcountrytrail.org
Overview: Hikes and local events held trailwide
October
Organization: Trail of Tears
Trail: Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
Event: Trail of Tears Conference and Symposium
Date: October 3-6, 2016
Location: Dalton, Georgia
Overview: Conference will be open to the public bringing together scholars, writers, tribal officials, local officials, and volunteer researchers for field guided field trips to tribal historical sites, lectures, workshops, and performances pertinent to the forced removal of the Tribes from the area where the conference is held.
Trail: Oregon and California National Historic Trails
Event: Oregon Trail Trek
Date: October 16, 2016
Location: Alcove Spring Park, Kansas
Website: nps.gov/oreg // nps.gov/cali
Overview: All ages are invited to a run/walk retracement of the route of the Oregon and California NHTs in and around Alcove Spring Park. The event will include at least a 10K option, and likely also shorter routes (5K and/or 3K). More details to come.
November
Trail: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
Event: Festival of the Trail
Date: November 19, 2016 10 AM – 4 PM
Location: El Camino Real Historic Trail Site, Socorro, New Mexico
Website: http://nmmonuments.org/el-camino-real // www.nps.gov/elca
Overview: This event celebrates the Camino Real Trail and its role in shaping the history of New Mexico. The event features traditional arts and crafts, music, Native dance, historical re-enactors, lectures, and food representing the rich and varied history, cultures, and peoples who settled the land.
Ongoing
Organization: Connecticut Forest & Park Association
Trail: New England National Scenic Trail
Event: Xio Xiomaro: A New England National Scenic Trail gallery exhibit
Website: www.ctwoodlands.org
Overview: New England National Scenic Trail Centennial Artist-in-Residence, Xio Xiomaro, will display his photography of the trail to help raise awareness, share his inspirations and discuss his techniques. We hope to host a few gallery-style events in 2016 to feature Xio’s photography of the New England National Scenic Trail, highlight the NPS Centennial and raise awareness for the NET in local communities.
Organization: North Country Trail Association
Trail: North Country National Scenic Trail
Event: Hike 100 Centennial Challenge
Date: 2016
Location: Trailwide
Website: https://northcountrytrail.org/get-involved/special-events/hike-100-challenge/
Overview: To celebrate the Centennial of the NPS, hikers are being challenged to walk 100 miles on the North Country National Scenic Trail. Anyone who logs 100 miles on the NCNST during 2016 (all at once or incrementally–100 separate miles or the same mile hiked 100 times) will get a certificate and commemorative patch. Stories and locations are being aggregated and shared via social networking.