2024 National TRACK Trails Day Wrap Up

by Meghan McDevitt, August 21, 2024

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Congratulations to all those who participated in the sixth National TRACK Trails Day! This weekend coincided with the 15th anniversary of Kids in Parks and commemorated the opening of the 300th TRACK Trail. We have many accomplishments and achievements to highlight from this year, including the new website, which went live in February.  So far this year, we've opened 31 new TRACK Trails - 20 hiking sites, nine TRACK Trail Minis, and two disc golf courses. Over 1,000 Trail TRACKers have logged at least one Adventure, and over 3,000 Adventures were TRACKed. 
For our sixth National TRACK Trails Day, over 50 Trail TRACKers registered an adventure across the country. Trail TRACKers from nine states (SC, NC, DE, PA, VA, SD, CA, OR, and FL) went disc golfing, hiking, paddling, or created their own adventure from August 16th-18th. From the coast of southern California (San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve) to the mountains of central Pennsylvania (Seven Points Disc Golf Course), people were out on the trails rain or shine across the country. Some chose to visit historical sites, like the National Mall & Memorial Parks in Washington, DC, while others escaped to the woods, hiking in places like Lake Morena County Park in CA, Sesquicentennial State Park in SC, and Raven Rock State Park in NC. Those who created their own adventure at unofficial TRACK Trails went all over as well, even visiting locations like the South Carolina Railroad Museum in South Carolina and Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park in Florida.
Grand Opening at Cypress Gardens
To celebrate this weekend, grand openings were held in Virginia and South Carolina on Saturday. The Cherry Blossom TRACK Trail in Daleville, Virginia joins the TRACK Trail network with a 1.7-mile, ADA-accessible trail where visitors can experience the natural beauty and wildlife of Botetourt County. New sites were added in South Carolina as well, including a grand opening at Cypress Gardens in Monck's Corner, South Carolina. The Cypress Gardens TRACK Trail encompasses 1.5 of the 3.5-mile walking path throughout the scenic swamp and gardens. Rosebrock Park was scheduled for a grand opening; however, due to Tropical Storm Debby, the in-person event was cancelled. Nevertheless, the Rosebrock Park TRACK Trail is now open for Trail TRACKers to visit and features 1.3 miles of hiking trails along the Ashley River.  A few new minis also made it onto the map! With these new additions, we were able to surpass 300 TRACK Trails.
Thank you to all those who joined in on this year's festivities!