Association helps maintain trails across Pennsylvania, advocates for more opportunities

Hikers in Pennsylvania should know there’s an organization that’s advocating for more opportunities for nature enthusiasts.

The Keystone Trails Association has been operating since 1956 to protect hiking trails across Pennsylvania. The nonprofit serves as the voice of the Pennsylvania hiking community regarding environmental issues, development pressure and government cutbacks.

“We provide, protect, preserve and promote hiking trails and hiking opportunities in the commonwealth,” Brook Lenker, KTA executive director, said in a telephone interview.

“When there is a trail proposal or legislation that would negatively effect trails, we try to get involved,” he said.

They work to promote trails with events like the Keystone Hike Fest that was held Oct. 20-22 in Johnstown that highlighted area trails and organizations. “We encourage people to go hiking and enjoy hiking and explore these awesome trails that Pennsylvania offers. We also sell maps and guides to some of the major hiking trails in Pennsylvania to give people the information they need to safely explore them,” he said.

One of the things the organization is known for is organizing trail maintenance projects.

“We mobilize volunteers to work on trails,” he said. They work in areas that don’t have a local trail club to organize maintenance activities. They also work with trail organizations to assist them with their maintenance needs.

KTA has training programs like backpacking and wilderness first aid. “Things that give folks more confidence in the outdoors, and outdoor skills,” he said. They also teach people the skills needed to participate in trail maintenance with hands on experience in marking and brushing trails.

The KTA also offers support to trail organizations to keep them vibrant and strong through mini-grants and cross promotion of events. The grants can be used for brochures or provide meals to people volunteering on trails.

KTA is located in Mechanicsburg, west of Harrisburg, but represents clubs and trails in every part of the commonwealth. The organization has a four-member staff that works with volunteers, including about 50 hiking clubs, across the state.

“We have a good working relationship with (the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources). Our volunteers often work on trails on state forest land,” he said, including projects on Black Forest Trail, Donut Hole Trail, and Mid State Trail.

The DCNR has noticed the work being done by the KTA as the state has been focused on highlighting the roughly 12,000 miles of trails that flow across Pennsylvania. “It’s through organizations like the Keystone Trails Association that we are able to highlight trails in a different way," Wesley Robinson, press secretary for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), said in a telephone interview.

Events like the HTA’s Hike Fest held in Johnstown provide additional ways for people to get interested in natural spaces. “They are thinking about community events, creating new unique opportunities to go hike and also staying to the basics of teaching,” he said about it being a welcoming organization.

“There’s a lot of really good messages within their message of getting people outdoors and working together,” Robinson said about the agency’s advocacy efforts.

Advocacy

Lenker said they like to champion advocacy projects for positive things happening as well as making their voices heard when there’s something they don’t agree with for trails. One example involves opposition to a flight training proposal from the Maryland Air National Guard. The Guard would like to use the air space above a portion of the Pennsylvania Wilds area in northcentral Pennsylvania for training purposes.

The KTA, among other organizations and coalitions, expressed concerns about the number of flights and the altitude of the planes during the flights. “It could have a tremendous impact on the experience of hikers and other outdoors enthusiasts. That’s an area that’s invested a lot of money in nature-based tourism,” Lenker said.

Another advocacy example involves concerns of the expansion of ATV and UTV trails on state forest land. “We see it as a potential conflict to the experience of hikers because ATVs make noise, they can pollute and we feel it’s incongruent with the mission of the Bureau of Forestry to accommodate ATV and UTV riding,” he said.

“We don’t want to see the expansion of ATV trails. We’re watching that issue really closely," Lenker said.

From 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Nov. 4, KTA is having a hiking event on the Black Forest Trail in Waterville to highlight ATV Impacts on PA Trails and Forests. Hikers can register online at kta-hike.org to participate.

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Why go hiking?

Lenker hikes for the physical and mental benefits he experiences. “I can feel relaxation setting in as I begin to hike,” he said. “I almost get sleepy when I’m out in the woods hiking along a trail. It’s very peaceful,” he said about being immersed in nature and the tranquility that it offers.

It’s a hobby you can enjoy throughout the year. “A friend of mine likes to say, ‘there’s no such thing as bad weather, there’s just inappropriate gear,’ It’s quite true,” Lenker said about hiking in the rain, snow or ice. “If you prepare, you don’t have to be overly concerned about cold, heat or ice or snow. You’ll find that’s when you get the most solitude.”

There’s also an economic event to hiking. When hikers visit an area they are spending money at restaurants, hotels and local stores.

Get involved

For those wanting to get involved in trail stewardship, Lenker said KTA has trail events at different locations across the state each year.

They are organizing an event in late spring in the Michaux State Forest in Cumberland, Adams and York county areas. It will involve a campout and work on five or six trails. “It’s a trail-love weekend,” he said. “It’s a model we may try in other places.

He said people can look at a list of trail clubs across the state listed on the KTA website to join as well as the friends groups for most of the state parks. “We’re happy at KTA to help direct people. If we know what they are interested in and where they live, we may be able to make recommendations and lay out some of the opportunities for them.”

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Future needs

In terms of trail infrastructure, there needs to be more trail connections to get people connected to trail experiences including biking and walking. Transportation can be a problem to move people across a road or river and actually getting people to a trailhead.

“More and more we would like to see more connections built,” he said.

As trail uses evolve, he said, they are working on a new strategic plan to help guide the organization in the future. He said they are trying to implement new activities and ways to share information about events and opportunities. For example the fall hiking weekend event has many benefits. “It’s celebrating the good work that’s already happened in different communities across Pennsylvania. And then trying to lift that up as part of this weekend and showcasing that,” Lenker said about trying new things.

“It’s an exciting time for trails and outdoors recreation in Pennsylvania,” he said. “It doesn’t take away from communities, it nourishes communities.”

Visit the KTA’s website, Facebook page, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram to follow upcoming events and opportunities.

Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors, and Instagram at whipkeyoutdoors.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: How do I get involved with a trail organization?