{"id":35568,"date":"2022-01-05T09:20:39","date_gmt":"2022-01-05T14:20:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=35568"},"modified":"2022-01-05T12:29:43","modified_gmt":"2022-01-05T17:29:43","slug":"marylanders-kick-off-2022-with-first-day-hikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2022\/01\/05\/marylanders-kick-off-2022-with-first-day-hikes\/","title":{"rendered":"Marylanders Kick Off 2022 with First Day Hikes"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Year\u2019s Weekend Hikers Brave Rainy Conditions<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"Photo

Hikers at Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area\u00a0 head into the woods on Jan. 1, 2022. Maryland DNR photo.<\/p><\/div>\n

The <\/span>Maryland Department of Natural Resources<\/span><\/a> (DNR) estimates that about 3,000 visitors took part in <\/span>First Day Hikes<\/span><\/a> in Maryland State Parks during the three-day period from December 31, 2021 through January 2, 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More than 350 people self-reported that they hiked 1,223 miles in our state parks during the three-day weekend, in addition to 487 people that took part in ranger-led hikes, and 2,135 hikers who enjoyed self-guided options.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rainy conditions may have dampened some attendance this year, but generally warmer temperatures through most of Maryland still provided plenty of opportunities for outdoor fun<\/a> on the state\u2019s public lands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maryland DNR Secretary Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio <\/span>joined staff and visitors for a hike at Tuckahoe State Park<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Tuckahoe State Park is one of our many treasures of natural and historic significance offering a tremendous location to start the new year,\u201d Secretary Riccio said. \u201cWe are pleased to see so many people continuing to enjoy the growing tradition of First Day Hikes, and I hope everyone joins us for more outdoor activities throughout 2022.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, <\/span>DNR estimated that 16,237 visitors took part in <\/span>First Day Hikes<\/span> in Maryland State Parks during the three-day period from January 1-3, 2021. <\/span>Crowd estimates the past two years include self-guided hikers reporting their attendance and mileage hiked using an <\/span>online form<\/span><\/a> on the DNR website, an innovation developed during the height of the pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dozens of hikers also left comments about their experience \u2013 a few of the remarks include:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell marked! Relatively easy. Had me huffing and puffing on the early leg. But a very nice walk.\u201d \u2013 Gunpowder State Park<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cOur 3 children were ages 3-8. Great view. Fun hike!\u201d \u2013 South Mountain State Park<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWe loved it \u2013 <\/span><\/i>King and Queen Seat<\/span><\/i><\/a> never gets old.\u201d \u2013 Rocks State Park<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cFirst time out in a while – loved it!\u201d \u2013 Greenbrier State Park<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re new residents of the state and loved our first visit to a MD state park!\u201d \u2013 Gambrill State Park<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cLots of people out enjoying the beautiful sunset over <\/span><\/i>Clopper Lake<\/span><\/i><\/a>.\u201d – Seneca Creek State Park<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cLoved every moment!\u201d \u2013 Assateague State Park<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWe call it the Maryland Challenge, 15 years in a row we’ve done some to all of (the <\/span><\/i>Appalachian Trail<\/span><\/i><\/a>) in MD.\u201d \u2013 Washington Monument State Park<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWet day but lovely hike!\u201d \u2013 Calvert Cliffs State Park<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cTerrific walk, despite the weather. We look forward to going back when there is no fog and we can actually see the water.\u201d \u2013 Wye River Natural Resources Management Area<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cFirst time visiting – loved it! Also first time doing First Day Hike – such an awesome idea to start out the year with a hike.\u201d \u2013 Patuxent River State Park<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a rainy, misty, foggy day but boy did I have fun!\u201d \u2013 Janes Island and Pocomoke State Parks<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for the First Day Hikes, \u2013 they inspire me to keep hiking! \u2013 Elk Neck State Park<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Year\u2019s Weekend Hikers Brave Rainy Conditions The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) estimates that about 3,000 visitors took part in First Day Hikes in Maryland State Parks during the three-day period from December 31, 2021 through January 2, 2022.\u00a0 More than 350 people self-reported that they hiked 1,223 miles in our state parks  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957,4998,23,12],"tags":[2914,4035,4981],"class_list":["post-35568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-hiking","category-land","category-parks","tag-first-day-hikes","tag-jeannie-haddaway-riccio","tag-maryland-state-parks"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35568"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35573,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35568\/revisions\/35573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}