From Resilience to Momentum- Hike the Hill 2026
Last year during Hike the HillⓇ, the annual trails community fly-in co-hosted by American Hiking Society (AHS) and Partnership for the National Trails System (PNTS), it felt as if the sky was falling. We were navigating foundational changes to public-private partnerships while federal land management structures and staffing seemed to be at a breaking point. While we are still navigating the loss of thousands of federal land managers, the 2026 event struck a markedly different tone. 
US Forest Service Chief Tom Shultz
National Park Service Acting Director
and Comptroller, Jessica Bowron
What a difference a year makes.
Hike the HillⓇ 2026 was defined by a sense of hard-earned optimism. The trails community arrived in D.C. with our packs filled with the success of meaningful funding increases following the passage of the 2026 fiscal year appropriations bill. We carried the momentum of a forward-looking bill to extend the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund for another eight years—a critical program to address the maintenance backlog and open access for all public land lovers.
Congressional Trails Briefing
Congressional Committee Meeting
Advocacy in Action
Throughout the week, 110+ trail leaders from across the country criss-crossed the Capitol to advocate before Congress and the administration. Our delegation met with leaders from the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management, as well as key congressional committee staff, including the majority and minority leaders of the House of Natural Resources Committees, whose decisions shape the future of the outdoors.
We also celebrated the massive scale of our collective impact:
- AHS 50th Anniversary: Celebrating five decades of advocacy and on-the-ground Impact: 14,396 individual trail projects resulting in 46,000 miles of maintained trails, from coast to coast, as the result of 657,000 volunteers who gave over 5 million hours of their time.
- PNTS 25th Anniversary: Celebrating a collective investment in the National Trails System of $852 million, including over $500 million in volunteer labor.
Trails Leader Meeting with NPS Acting Director and Comptroller
Advocacy Training Session
New Champions and Next Steps
A highlight of 2026 was our inaugural congressional trails briefing, hosted by the Washington Trails Association. We were joined by two trail champions, Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA-3) and Rep. Emily Randall (D-WA-6), who spoke passionately about the economic and social necessity of protecting our nation’s trails.
As we "head back down the mountain" and depart Washington, D.C., we do so with the wind at our backs.
We secured six additional co-sponsors for the Legacy Restoration Fund extension and received renewed commitments from federal leadership regarding the vital importance of our partnerships. We weren’t alone in our efforts, as we had the 63 million strong hiking community with us all along the way. Spreading the message from their own parks and trails telling congress to take action! This message and effort will continue at home in every state and congressional district. Take this momentum and invite your elected officials out on the trail with you for National Trails DayⓇ and beyond! Through these first hand experiences we can continue to build up the champions we need to continue the work that started during Hike the HillⓇ.