2025 Annual Report

A Letter from American Hiking’s Executive Director and Board Chair

Dear Friends, Partners, and Trail Champions,

As we reflect on 2025, we are filled with deep gratitude and tremendous pride for what our community has made possible together.

Because of you, our generous individual donors, corporate and foundation partners, volunteers, advocates, and trail stewards, American Hiking Society continued to protect, connect, and champion trails across the country during one of the most challenging years in recent memory for public lands. Your commitment did more than sustain our work; it strengthened it.

In a year marked by proposed budget cuts, staffing challenges across federal land management agencies, and an increasingly complex advocacy landscape, your support ensured that trails remained a national priority. Together, we secured critical funding increases for trail maintenance, elevated the importance of public lands staffing on Capitol Hill, and helped move forward bipartisan solutions like the extension of the Legacy Restoration Fund protecting thousands of trail projects nationwide.

Beyond Washington, your impact was felt on the ground and in communities across the country. From trail leaders advocating during Hike the Hill, to the inspiring work of our NextGen Trail Leaders, to college students giving back through Alternative Breaks, and volunteers donating tens of thousands of hours through our Volunteer Vacations – 2025 was a powerful reminder that when people come together in service of trails, real change happens.

You helped expand access, restore critical infrastructure, foster the next generation of outdoor leaders, and bring people from all backgrounds into the joy and stewardship of the outdoors.

Most importantly, you made it possible for American Hiking Society to direct nearly 76% of every dollar toward programs that protect and improve trails nationwide, a testament to your trust and our shared commitment to impact.

As we look ahead to the future – including the exciting milestone of AHS’s 50th Anniversary – we do so with confidence, momentum, and heartfelt appreciation for each of you who walk alongside us in this mission.

Thank you for believing in the power of trails to connect communities, strengthen well-being, and protect the natural spaces we all cherish. The progress of 2025 belongs to you.

With gratitude and optimism,

Heather Klein Olson
Executive Director
American Hiking Society Matt Griffis
Board Chair
American Hiking Society

Advocacy

2025 was one of the busiest-and challenging-years in recent memory for trails and public lands advocates. Facing steep proposed budget cuts, drastic staffing cuts across land management agencies like the Forest Service, BLM, and National Park Service, to more positive bipartisan efforts to extend the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund, the work has been fast and furious.

After a year of tireless advocacy led by American Hiking Society Congress passed bipartisan legislation to fund the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service. Despite a challenging fiscal environment, AHS successfully advocated for maintaining and increasing funding for critical trail programs. Your voice, combined with our presence on the Hill, ensured that trails were not left behind in the budget shuffle. Key funding victories included a $2 Million increase for the Forest Service Capital Improvement and Maintenance line item. This is vital for repairing aging trail infrastructure, bridges, and access points; a $248,000 Increase for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) National Scenic and Historic Trails account; and critical staffing bill language that calls for restoring agency staffing to “fulfill the mission” of trail infrastructure.

A shining beacon on the hill in 2025 was the America the Beautiful Act (S.1547) which aims to extend the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund which expired in 2025.

This act would continue funding for deferred maintenance projects. With over 1,500 infrastructure projects already underway nationwide-touching every state, Washington, D.C., and many U.S. territories-the LRF has improved or replaced more than 11,000 public lands assets, including over 3,400 trail projects! There is still much more deferred maintenance that needs to be addressed and extending the Legacy Restoration Fund continues to be a key priority.

Hike the Hill®

During the annual advocacy fly-in with trail leaders from across the country, we highlighted the importance and value of federal land managers that keep our public lands open and accessible everyday. Without on-the-ground staff, organizations like American Hiking Society cannot partner, and volunteers cannot give back, in the same way.

Through hundreds of meetings with Congress and agency leadership, over seventy-five trail leaders from across the country jumped into action and spread the message for staffing and funding of public lands through the halls of Congress.

We also highlighted the many opportunities in 2025 for our public lands from the extension of the Legacy Restoration Fund, the full funding of the Recreational Trails Program, implementing the EXPLORE Act, and supporting trails through annual appropriations.

NextGen Trail Leaders

The eighth class of NextGen Trail Leaders (NGTLs) we partnered with in 2025 shared their passion for stewardship and advocacy loud and clear! Representing many different backgrounds and interests, this class not only had robust participation in National Trails Day®, but they also made the most of their volunteer efforts, professional development pursuits, mentorship, community building, and communication engagement. All year, NGTLs inspired, taught, and empowered others through social media and AHS communications to build a stronger hiking community.

Across the country, the NextGen Trail Leaders celebrated National Trails Day® by bringing together outdoor enthusiasts in their communities to enjoy nature by heading out for group hikes and participating in trail clean-ups and various trail stewardship activities.

Brandan and his organization Shades of the Outdoors: A BIPOC Outdoor Enthusiast Community helped to build and foster community on the trail with a BIPOC hike for National Trails Day®. A group of twenty BIPOC outdoor enthusiasts and allies gathered at County Farm Park for a morning hike- many of whom were discovering American Hiking Society for the first time. As they laced up their boots and set out together, attendees learned about AHS’s mission and eagerly took the National Trails Day® pledge to leave trails and communities better than they found them. Brandan shared, “In this social climate having community is huge for people of color. Knowing that an organization as prominent as AHS is positioning itself as a supporter of the BIPOC community made a lot of participants comforted, hopeful, and encouraged.”

Anjelica and her trail community headed out to Griffith Park which is home to numerous trails, many of which Anjelica has used to train for more intense mountains. Anjelica has hosted so many special hikes in Griffith Park that it only seemed right to give this beloved outdoor space some much needed love. The group of ladies devoted their Saturday morning to picking up trash to help leave the trail better than they found it. Anjelica shared, “It’s important to pack out all of your trash and be aware of your small wrapper trash pieces too!” They picked up a lot of bottles and cans and a ton of micro-trash like cigarette butts and orange peelings.

“It’s important more now than ever to be stewards and take care of the trails that have done so much for us,” Anjelica noted.

Ryanne celebrated National Trails Day at the Highlands Center for Natural History. Event participants gathered together to enjoy a day outdoors in celebration of the trails and had the opportunity to hike together with an Arizona Master Naturalist! Ryanne noted, “We had 25 hikers join us and had a great time discussing ways to take care of their trails and local youth hiking challenges in the area.” The group trekked through the pines of Prescott National Forest, and got to cool off at Lynx Creek. After the hike, all were encouraged to take the National Trails Day® pledge, enjoy some fun swag and gifts, and learn more about how to be an environmental steward to ensure the trails are preserved for generations to come.

In the summer and fall, three NextGen Trail Leaders participated in their first volunteer trips at Natchez Trace State Park, TN, Adirondack Park, NY, and Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, TN. Following the experience one of the NextGen decided to continue giving back by serving as an AHS crew leader in 2026!

Alternative Break

In 2025, 115 students from 10 different colleges and universities participated in an Alternative Break with American Hiking Society, contributing 4,332 volunteer hours and $150,170 in volunteer labor value to state parks and a National Wildlife Refuge across the country. Expanding our offerings in 2025, we continue to offer year-round programming with a Fall Break trip with James Madison University and a year-round outreach model allowing schools to schedule trips that best fit their needs. Students often join these projects with little to no previous trail maintenance experience but leave with a deep sense of accomplishment, camaraderie with their group, and an appreciation for the work that goes into creating and maintaining safe access to hiking trails. Participating colleges and universities: Illinois State University, City College of New York, Tarleton State University, Colgate University,State University of New York Oswego, Rochester Institute of Technology, Keuka College in New York, Misericordia University, Kennesaw State University, James Madison University, and DeSales University.

Volunteer Vacations

Setting out on the next 50 years of Volunteer Vacations (older than American Hiking Society!) 32 Volunteer Vacation projects across the country brought together 296 volunteers and crew leaders and many more land management hosts to donate 10,712 volunteer hours at a value of $372,670! Over the last fifty-one years, nearly 18,000 volunteer crew members have contributed 712,000 hours of their time to maintain over 5,400 miles of trail and donate $13.5 million in volunteer labor! These projects improved or restored access to over 4 million hikers and trail users across the country!

The projects are as varied as the volunteers themselves, and have included building new trails, bridges and boardwalks, removing invasive species and clearing trails, sawing and hauling out fallen trees, creating more accessible trails and signage, and so many more!

Thanks to the amazing work of our volunteers, these efforts resulted in the expansion of sustainable access to natural spaces that we all enjoy across the country.

Read more about the impact of each project:

Nantahala National Forest, NC

Shawnee National Forest, IL

King Range National Conservation Area, CA

Nebraska National Forest, Bessey Ranger District, NE

Catalina Island Conservancy, CA

Erie National Wildlife Refuge, PA

Catalina Island Conservancy, CA

Prince of Wales Ranger District, AK

Allegany State Park, NY

Fire Island National Seashore, NY

Cranberry Wilderness, WV