To spend time outdoors as a volunteer on public lands and trails is a healthy, family-friendly activity for all.

Recently, while hiking at the Waikiki Springs Nature Preserve, located northwest Spokane County, my son asked, “Can I lead the way today?” My family was starting down the Waikiki Trail towards the first switchback. I noticed the darkened Oregon grapes on the trailside and the browning of the once-gorgeous oceanspray bushes as I followed behind.

Rounding the second switchback, we could hear the sound of the water and the trail began to open up a bit. We said hello to the few walkers we saw out for evening strolls with their dogs and took in the view at the next switchback that stretches out beyond the river to Rattlesnake Ridge. I love to hike in the evening.

Land Stewards

My family recently became volunteer land stewards for the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy (INLC). In this new role, we are able to spend time together as a family, exercising and breathing fresh air as we look after a place we love, Waikiki Springs Nature Preserve. As land stewards for the INLC, we help to design and complete habitat enhancement projects, monitor trails, educate public land users and note wildlife vegetation and hydrologic trends on the land.

We have always spent time hiking at Waikiki Springs, but since becoming stewards we are spending time learning more about the area—the plants, the animals, the Little Spokane River that runs through it, and how we can take better care of it all.

We are getting better at using maps, observing and taking notes, using a compass and basic first aid practices. We are learning and practicing good trail etiquette, the effects of not following these rules, and sharing it with others. We are experiencing what it feels like to be active in our community and to think and act beyond ourselves and see the bigger picture.

A lesson we didn’t expect but I have grown increasingly appreciative of is to be intentional with our time. Now we schedule our busy lives around our commitment to this place. In a fast-paced world where we tend to put self care and mental health on the back burner, I am happy to have found something that checks so many boxes on the health and fitness list.

If you are anything like me, when someone says “health and fitness” images of gym memberships, health magazines, and the latest diet fad runs through your mind. I say let the outdoors be your gym and allow your time exercising to be for more than just your body. As a parent, I am happy to have the opportunity to model all of these life lessons by exploring an amazing place with my kids.

Volunteer Opportunities in the Inland NW

In the Inland Northwest, there are a number of organizations with volunteer opportunities to shape your outdoor fitness regime. Groups include: The Lands Council, The Spokane Riverkeeper, Dishman Hills Conservancy, Friends of The Little Spokane River Valley, Washington Trails Association, Friends of the Bluff, Evergreen East, Idaho Trails Association, and Pend Oreille Pedalers.

Many parks also have “friends of” groups with more opportunities. All of these organizations offer events such as clean ups, plantings, trail work, and more. Spokane Humane Society and PAWS need dog walkers, and Habitat for Humanity offers several construction and labor opportunities.

Whether you’re looking for just yourself or your whole family, for occasional events or a bigger commitment, there is something for everyone. Look for volunteer opportunities with organizations you are interested in and redefine what health and fitness mean to you.

Alana Livingston gets to hike as part of her work as the owner of Wander Spokane, a downtown tour business. She wrote about wandering Spokane’s urban wilds in the May/June 2022 issue.

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The Idaho Trails Association (ITA) started in 2010 with a focus on the McCall and Boise areas, and then organized its first trail project in North Idaho in 2015, says ITA board member and volunteer Tom Dabrowski.

Since then, thanks to a dramatic spike in more local hikers donating to and volunteering for ITA, the group has a total of 16 trail projects planned for the Idaho Panhandle National Forest this year. In 2019, ITA volunteers worked a total of 8,000 hours on trails around Idaho, says Dabrowski. “The neat thing about volunteering is we’re really helping our public lands, and we’re not spending taxpayer money to do it.”  

What Does It Take to Join a Trail Project?

ITA has trail projects with a wide range of difficulty, even on the same trail. “Sometimes there are difficult things to do like moving large rocks, and then there are easier things to do like clipping brush,” Dabrowski says. “We ask people to come on out and even if they’ve never done trail work before we’ll show you how to do it safely.” Hiking distances on projects vary widely too, from 2-3 miles to up to 8-miles over the day.

A trail project typically starts with volunteers meeting up at a trailhead to get to know other volunteers and project leaders, have a safety briefing, and then head on up the trail together.

Once at the project site, volunteers get to learn how to use different types of tools and try different tasks. Some people may use a crosscut saw to clear downed trees off the trail (ITA only uses hand tools for safety reasons), and others might use smaller hand saws or other tools to clear smaller trees or brush or improve the trail surface.

Volunteers have lunch together out on the trail and then return to the trailhead in the afternoon. At the end of the day, explains Dabrowski, the most satisfying thing is hearing people say “wow, look at what we got done. It’s a thing where you can get that gratification of your hard work in the space of one day.”

Meet Fellow Trail Lovers

“When people come out and volunteer,” says Dabrowski, “the number one thing they comment on is the people they met and work with.” The camaraderie is a big thing with volunteers, he says.

Dabrowski also says that they often see wildlife out on the trail. “I just came back from a project in Hells Canyon where we saw large herds of elk, bears that had just come out of hibernation, and mountain goats.” The scenery in North Idaho, he adds, is particularly impressive.

Summer Trail Projects

ITA trips are a great way to get out on some of Idaho’s most beautiful wild areas, meet new people, and give something back to our trails. You do not need to have any experience to sign up for a project; ITA will give you the training and tools you need to do the work.

Whether you are looking for an easy one-day project, a weekend getaway, or a week-long work vacation, you are sure to find a project that is right for you.

Learn more about Idaho Trails Association or sign up for one of these trail projects this summer at Idahotrailsassociation.org.

May 15-16: Lake Shore Trail 294 (rated easy) – Cut out logs and brush on this trail along the northwestern shore of Priest Lake (day trip or car camping).

June 5: Mickinnick Trail (rated moderate) – This popular hiking trail gains 2,200’ to reach a beautiful viewpoint above Sandpoint. Help cut out logs, do tread work, improve drainage, and trim back brush.

June 18-20: Coeur d’Alene River Trail (rated moderate) – This is a three-day project in the beautiful upper North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River removing logs and improving the trail. Join for one or more days and optional car camping.

June 26-27: Upper Priest River Trail (rated difficult) – A two-day project up to American Falls with bridge, rock, and tread work on several area trails.

July 7-11: Seven Devils Loop (rated difficult) – A self-supported, 27-mile backpacking trip around the Seven Devils peaks clearing the trail of downed trees and doing trail tread work along the way. 

July 10: Ball Lakes Trail (rated moderate) – Cut back brush, remove logs, and improve the trail surface on this 3-mile hike 1,300 feet up to this beautiful Selkirk Mountain alpine lake.

July 18-23: Fault Lake Trail (week-long trip rated difficult) – This 6-day project high in the Selkirk Mountains will include building a raised walkway through a swampy area along with other trail clearing and improvement efforts. 

Originally published as “Volunteers Makes the Different for North Idaho’s Hiking Trails” in the May-June 2021 issue.

[All photos courtesy Idaho Trails Association.]

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Bill Way and the NEWTS 

It began with a simple outdoor adventure. In about 2013, Bill Way’s friend (who happens to be Out There’s own Derrick Knowles) asked if Way would hike with him to find an obscure trail he’d seen on a map of the Colville National Forest. The goal was to determine whether the trail might make for a good mountain biking route.  

“What Derrick found on an older map was the end of the Taylor Ridge Trail,” says Way—a feeder to the Pacific Northwest Trail on the Kettle Crest. Three miles of this trail, known as the “Tom Creek” section, had been washed out about 20 years ago “in a tremendous rainstorm.” Trail maintenance had ceased at that time. 

With some difficulty, they found the trail. To Way, a retired teacher who lives outside Colville, it was clearly full of potential for mountain biking, with the restored segment and potential future road access resulting in a 20+ mile, shuttleable ride with exciting shifts in elevation, big trees, and water access.  

First, though, would come a significant amount of work. Way formed The Northeast Washington Trailblazers (NEWTS), a nonprofit dedicated to promoting non-motorized outdoor recreation and establishing trails and routes in northeast Washington. It quickly grew to over 100 members. Way served as president for four years and is currently on the group’s board. Taylor Ridge was the instigator for the group’s formation. Once the members held meetings, though, other projects came to the fore and were also undertaken, notably including work on the Colville Mountain Trail and the Sherman Creek Wildlife Area.  

Much of the trail’s work is facilitated and coordinated through Kristin Ackerman, the Eastern Washington Regional Coordinator of the Pacific Northwest Trails Association. “Bill is great. He’s a champion. I wish we could clone him,” Ackerman says. “We’ve seen him handily outwork younger, less experienced volunteers. In and out of the field, Bill is an invaluable member of the trail community.” 

The work of volunteers and partnering organizations like the NEWTS, says Ackerman, is “super critical” when it comes to a functional and expanding trail system. “The recreation departments, especially in the Forest Service, they’re not getting as many resources as they need to take care of all of our trails.” 

Current NEWTS president Matt Monbouquette (owner of Colville bike shop Adventure Peddler) says he’s working to “fill Bill Way’s very large shoes…Bill’s leadership has been the cornerstone of the organization for a long time. His passion for the outdoors and creating new places for people to recreate is inspiring.” 

“The Taylor Ridge Trail is really the crown jewel of the NEWTS organization,” Monbouquette says. “Due to the persistence of Bill and the NEWTS group we did work on the trail with the blessing of the Forest Service, and now the Forest Service is sending work crew/trail parties to the trail to work on it annually. That is really our biggest achievement and the main focus of the organization the past few years.” 

Way cautions those interested in similar efforts to be prepared for physical work and to recognize that things probably won’t move quickly. “It just takes a long time sometimes,” he says, given that working on trails you’re likely partnering with trails organizations, the Forest Service, state or national parks, and/or the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, all with rules and regulations to follow. For those who’d like to tackle their own projects, Way recommends contacting an organization like the Washington Trails Association for advice—or, of course, a group like the NEWTS (Northeast Washington Trailblazers on Facebook, or email newasts [at] gmail [dot] com).  

For his part, Way finds that the effort and patience required for stewarding public lands are well worth it. “It has taken quite a bit of my time sometimes, but it’s been very rewarding to see things come together. It’s given me connections to people that have maybe similar interests but maybe I wouldn’t have known. I’ve learned a lot about how to get things done,” he says. “Plus, I love to go out and hike and bike and ski on the trails, too.” 

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