Washington Trails Association

10/12/2026

Respecting the outdoors means more than just treading gently and recreating thoughtfully. It means remembering that the earth sustains us, and in return, that we have a responsibility to care for it.

This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we hope you’ll join us respectfully acknowledging the lands we are visiting are the homelands of Indigenous Tribes of the Pacific Northwest, some of whom have reserved rights on these lands. Tribes continue to rely on and share in the management of these lands today.

Thank you for practicing a mindset of stewardship that Indigenous communities have carried forward for centuries.

📸 Photo by Ray Pfortner

10/11/2026

Even at trailheads, the rules of the road (AKA the parking lot) still apply. As hikers statewide flock to appreciate fall foliage, it’s up to us to park thoughtfully 🚗⁠
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Trailhead parking lots have finite space. Park like you’re in the city.⁠
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If you choose to park on the road, pull well off and leave room for emergency vehicles, turnouts and other traffic.⁠
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Lot full? Have a plan B trail in mind.⁠
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Display your lands pass. The fees you pay for public land passes go to maintaining the trails you enjoy.⁠
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📸 Photo by Ken Donleycott

10/10/2026

You have until 11:59 PM on Oct. 12 to enter our Northwest Exposure 📸

This year you have a chance to win amazing prizes, have your photo featured in a ton of cool places AND you'll help support WTA's mission of trails for everyone, forever through your photography!

Learn more and enter at wta.org/photocontest

10/09/2026

We're fall-ing for these autumn national park trails, hand-picked by our friends at Washington's National Park Fund and park staff.

Brilliant colors, fewer crowds and crisp air — we're in 🍂

10/09/2026

This Saturday is World Mental Health Day! Let’s commemorate it by getting outside.

Lands managed by the following agencies will be fee-free this Saturday, Oct. 10:

🌲 Washington State Parks & Recreation Commission
🌲 Washington State Department of Natural Resources
🌲 Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife
🌲 U.S. Forest Service

📸 Photo by Morgan Henderson

10/07/2026

“EVEN FLOOOOOW” — pika jam 🎤

Pika-viewing season is nearly over. Soon, these alpine-dwelling cuties will be hanging under a deep blanket of snow, where they’ll stay active until things thaw next spring.

Environmental changes continue to diminish pika habitat across the U.S. Please appreciate them from a distance, keep human food for humans, and take only photos.

📸 Photo by trip reporter mh99

10/07/2026

‼️Offically less than one week left to enter the Northwest Exposure Photo Contest ‼️

Head over to wta.org/photocontest to learn more about this year's prizes, categories or to enter your favorite photos! Make sure you sumbit before the contest closes on October 12th 📸

Enter WTA's Northwest Exposure Photo Contest, Washington Trails Association's annual celebration of outdoor photography and the community of hikers that explore Washington's trails.

10/05/2026

Join the UW College of the Environment for the 2026 Doug Walker Reception & Lecture, featuring Phil Levin, research professor and director of the UW School of Marine and Environmental Affairs and director of The Nature Record.

Drawing on lessons from The Nature Record, the first independent, holistic assessment of nature in the United States, Levin will reflect on what years of scientific synthesis have revealed about the state of nature, resilience and responsibility.

Wednesday, Oct. 21 at Town Hall Seattle, The Forum
Pre-reception with refreshments at 5:30 p.m., lecture at 6:30 p.m

Tickets are available today: events.uw.edu/event/DougWalkerLecture2026/summary

10/04/2026

Get to know your hiking gear with WTA resources 🥾

We offer a catalogue of gear-related resources to get you ready for your next trip, covering everything from the ten essentials and shoe selection to sleep systems and gear repair.

In need of a specific gear-related resource? Let us know in the comments, and if we have an article, we’ll share it with you!

10/03/2026

The ADA-accessible Erinswood Trail at Heybrook Ridge County Park has officially reopened 🎉

WTA volunteers originally began roughing the Erinswood Trail in 2018, but as of last month, it’s up to ADA standards and is wheelchair-accessible. The loop has eight new benches, placed every 200 feet along the trail, as well as nine interpretive signs.

Thank you Snohomish County Parks & Recreation and Friends of Heybrook Ridge for their decade-long partnership and hard work to make this project possible.

“It’s felt like this perfect triad of WTA, Snohomish County Parks and the Friends of Heybrook Ridge. Together, we’ve created a public space for hikers of all types, wheelchairs, strollers, walkers — making it a unique park for both people in Sky Valley and farther away” — Ann Darlington, Friends of Heybrook Ridge board member.

🌲The Erinswood trail now built up to ADA standards by Snohomish County Parks. Photo by Emily Griffith
🌲 The Erinswood Trail was initially roughed in by WTA in 2018. Photo by Bob Adler