Celebrate National Trails Day!

Well, the hiking has slowed down a bit this month, but Saturday we have a really good excuse to get back onto a trail ... and so does everyone else. It's the annual National Trails Day, courtesy of the American Hiking Society, and there are plenty of events to choose from no matter where you live.

Here in Central Massachusetts we're leaning toward attending the grand opening of a new hiking trail, which I figured would be very apropos for the occasion. It's the Walnut Hill Trail in Southborough, overseen by the Sudbury Valley Trustees.

That leads me into a couple of points/recent discoveries from this continually wonderful experience of the outdoors. For one, I continue to stumble upon cool trails right here in the heart of Worcester, which as Sara pointed out is often overlooked as a major city -- the second largest in New England (yeah, we're looking at you, Providence and Hartford). One of Saturday's events is a roundtrip traverse of the East Side Trail, which winds its way from a city park on "hip" Shrewsbury Street all the way to Lake Quinsigamond ... but at more than 6 miles we'll be skipping that, perhaps saving for a one-way trek another time.

The other nice recent finding is the Trustees of Reservations. Just to add to an already-packed state parks and forest bucket list of destinations, the Trustees oversee a ton of great places in its aim to "preserve, for public use and enjoyment, properties of exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value in Massachusetts."
That includes cool spots like Doane's Falls and Royalston Falls in Royalston, along the 22-mile Tulley Trail Loop that I'm keenly eyeing. Maybe a solo hike as a birthday present to myself. (Arlen)