In the morning, Nevada City Mayor Evans Phelps joined trail lovers for a hike on the Deer Creek Tribute Trail with the Land Trust's Shaun Clarke. Local archeologist and trails author Hank Meals led a challenging hike at Black Swan Preserve and beyond while Executive Director of FREED Center for Independent Living joined Trails Coordinator Bill Haire for an outing to Hirschman Pond for folks of all mobility levels.
In the afternoon, Grass Valley Mayor Howard Levine presented the Land Trust with a trails day proclamation and announced a trail project getting started along Wolf Creek. "Trails are the veins of our existence. Trails are an important part of Grass Valley's connectivity. Grass Valley has had trails in its General Plan for decades and finally moving forward on Wolf Creek brings to our public one the most immediate beautiful sites our community can access. It is a resource too long hidden," said Grass Valley Mayor Howard Levine.
At the Trails Day festival, young and old picked up trail maps, planned their summer outdoor recreation adventures, shopped for camping and hiking gear, discovered state parks and public forest land or learned about land conservation efforts at the many vendor booths set up in the parking lot of the Tahoe National Forest headquarters off Coyote Street in Nevada City.
Kids played Twister in the Gold Crush Climbing Gym "Boulder Climber." Some rode Helen Crawford's friendly pack horse, Copper Belle, the day's mascot for Gold Country Trails Council. Others painted T-shirts using recycled bike parts at the Bicyclist of Nevada County (BONC) and Youth Bicyclists of Nevada County (YBONC) booth.
This year's participants included: Tarptent, Gold Crush Climbing Gym, Mountain Recreation, Inn Town Campground, Nevada City Scenics, Folk Trails Hiking Club, 49th Gold Country Scout Group, Sierra Trailblazers, Sierra Club, Nevada County Woods Riders, Gold Country Trails Council, South Yuba River State Parks Association, Empire Mine State Parks Association, Bicyclists of Nevada County, YBONC, Sierra Fund, Placer Nature Center, Three Forks Bakery and Brewing Co., No Pho King Way and hosts Tahoe National Forest.
Support for local trails continues all summer long at local brew pubs Three Forks Bakery and Brewing Company and Matteo's Public where a $1 from each pint of specialty beer, "Hirschman Hefeweizen" goes back to local trails while supplies last.
Want to learn more about local trails, summer treks and outings? Visit: http://www.bylt.org
Laura Petersen is community engagement manager for the Bear Yuba Land Trust.
CLICK HERE to see original article in The Union newspaper