{"id":9658,"date":"2016-01-12T16:36:22","date_gmt":"2016-01-12T21:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=9658"},"modified":"2017-04-14T15:48:43","modified_gmt":"2017-04-14T19:48:43","slug":"maryland-hosted-record-2100-first-day-hikers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2016\/01\/12\/maryland-hosted-record-2100-first-day-hikers\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Hosted Record 2,100 First Day Hikers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hikers<\/a>

Assateague State Park had the most First Day Hike participants in Maryland.<\/p><\/div>\n

Across Maryland, a record-breaking 2,177 people spent the first day of 2016 participating in a First Day Hike<\/a>. A total of 30 guided hikes were held in 26 Maryland state parks, with participants logging a total of 4,531 miles. Maryland was one of the 50 states that hosted an outdoor adventure as part of the national First Day Hikes initiative<\/a>, which encourages everyone to celebrate the outdoors on the first day of the new year.
\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI participated in a First Day Hike with my family at Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary, where we trekked through fields to the banks of the Patuxent River,\u201d Maryland Natural Resources<\/a>\u00a0Secretary Mark Belton said. \u201cWe were guided by a knowledgeable Maryland Park Service ranger who informed us about the history and nature of the area as we enjoyed fresh air, exercise and each other\u2019s company. I want to thank Maryland Park Service rangers, staff and volunteers for taking the time out of their holiday to remind us of the rich culture and beauty found in Maryland\u2019s great outdoors.\u201d<\/p>\n

From wildlife watching to historical presentations, each park hosted their own unique outing. Guided adventures ranged from exploring the sandy beaches and salty marshes of Assateague State Park<\/a>, to hearing tales from the past at Dan\u2019s Mountain State Park<\/a>, to tracking winter wildlife at Elk Neck State Park<\/a>. Many locations also hosted pet-friendly treks. View some photos here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s participation increased 28 percent from last year\u2019s record turnout as many participants have made First Day Hikes an annual tradition. Additionally, thousands\u00a0more\u00a0visited state parks to enjoy the outdoors on their own on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
State Park<\/strong><\/td>\nParticipants<\/strong><\/td>\nMiles Hiked<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Assateague<\/td>\n390<\/td>\n390<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cedarville<\/td>\n93<\/td>\n279<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cunningham<\/td>\n45<\/td>\n45<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dan’s Mountain<\/td>\n25<\/td>\n25<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Deep Creek<\/td>\n38<\/td>\n114<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elk Neck<\/td>\n24<\/td>\n48<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fair Hill<\/td>\n132<\/td>\n528<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fort Frederick<\/td>\n65<\/td>\n130<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gambrill<\/td>\n60<\/td>\n30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Greenbrier<\/td>\n120<\/td>\n220<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gunpowder<\/td>\n240<\/td>\n420<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Herrington<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Janes Island<\/td>\n45<\/td>\n90<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Merkle<\/td>\n74<\/td>\n111<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New Germany<\/td>\n75<\/td>\n113<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Patapsco Valley<\/td>\n236<\/td>\n652<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pocomoke<\/td>\n31<\/td>\n93<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rocks<\/td>\n11<\/td>\n11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rocky Gap<\/td>\n14<\/td>\n14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sandy Point<\/td>\n70<\/td>\n280<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seneca<\/td>\n190<\/td>\n532<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
St. Mary’s<\/td>\n60<\/td>\n180<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Susquehanna<\/td>\n41<\/td>\n82<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tawes Garden<\/td>\n36<\/td>\n18<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tuckahoe<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n80<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail<\/td>\n12<\/td>\n36<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TOTAL<\/strong><\/td>\n2,177<\/strong><\/td>\n4,531<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Sponsored by America\u2019s State Parks<\/a>, First Day Hikes highlight the value of state parks in providing year-round recreation\u2014connecting Americans to the outdoors and promoting healthy lifestyles. This year, nearly 56,000 people covered approximately 134,000 miles on 1,169 hikes across the country.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Across Maryland, a record-breaking 2,177 people spent the first day of 2016 participating in a First Day Hike. A total of 30 guided hikes were held in 26 Maryland state parks, with participants logging a total of 4,531 miles. Maryland was one of the 50 states that hosted an outdoor adventure as part of the  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"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":[957,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-parks"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9658","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\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9658"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9669,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9658\/revisions\/9669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}