The First Day Hikes program, held annually in observance of the New Year’s holiday at state parks in all 50 states, has surpassed 1 million miles hiked and 500,000 participants nationwide as of 2024.
The program, promoted by America’s State Parks, an alliance of state park systems across the country, and the National Association of State Park Directors, has been around for three decades, offering participants outdoor opportunities to usher in the new year. Those opportunities include, among others, horseback rides, sunrise hikes and cave hikes, according to Andrea Hitt, chief of education and interpretation for South Carolina State Parks. Hitt is the national coordinator for the program, working with each state on gathering information about and publicizing their respective hike offerings, she said in a phone interview.
In 2014, there were fewer than 900 hikes offered, over 30,000 participants and over 72,000 miles hiked, according to data provided by Hitt. In 2024, there were over 1,300 hikes offered, over 66,000 participants and over 138,000 miles hiked, the data showed. In the past decade, there have been over 12,000 hikes offered, over 533,000 participants and over 1 million miles hiked.
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