Natural History Wanderings

June 4, 2016 is American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day®, the country’s largest celebration of trails.  National Trails Day events will take place in every state across the country and will include hikes, biking and horseback rides, paddling trips, birdwatching, geocaching, gear demonstrations, stewardship projects and more.

Learn more and find an even near you at  National Trails Day National Trails Day® – National Trails Day

Of special interest to hikers in the Mendocino area the New York Times reported

In time for the American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day, June 4, Mendocino County in Northern California will open two new hiking trails. The 2.3-mile Peter Douglas Coastal Trail routes hikers through redwood groves known as Shady Dell featuring trees with branches that have split off into candelabra shapes. The land, just south of Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, is owned by the nonprofit Save the Redwoods League.

Farther south in Fort Bragg, a new one-mile link will connect north and south portions of the coastal trail at Noyo Headlands Park to create a 5.5-mile trail. Guides to the trails can be found at trails.mendocinolandtrust.org, a site from the Mendocino Land Trust offering free maps that can be downloaded. The trails are part of the planned 1,200-mile California Coastal Trail, which is about halfway to its goal of edging the state’s entire shore in a continuous hiking trail.