Hiker Headlines: New ADA trail, Newhalem visitor center closed for winter, now hiring

It’s Oct. 1. WTA is hiring for a full-time volunteer and training coordinator, as well as for our seasonal Emerging Leaders Program! It’s your last chance to speak up for the Roadless Rule. The off-season has begun in the mountains: Bear poles are coming down at Mount Rainier and the North Cascades Visitor Center is closed. A new ADA-accessible trail has opened at Heybrook Ridge County Park. And there’s still time to sign up for a WTA Outdoor Leadership Training hiking workshop this weekend! Here’s some news you may have missed while out on trail this week.

The newly-ADA-accessible Erinswood trail is now open to the public! Photo by Emily Griffith, Snohomish County Parks. 

WTA is hiring: We’re now hiring for a full-time volunteer and training coordinator, who will ensure a positive experience for WTA’s volunteers. This position will helping shape the trail maintenance volunteer program by overseeing the program’s training content and providing administrative support. This position is based in WTA’s downtown Seattle office. The priority application deadline is Oct. 14. And a reminder that we are still hiring for our 2027 Emerging Leaders Program summer associates! 

Last chance to speak up: You have until Tuesday, Oct. 6, to comment on a proposal to rescind the Roadless Rule, which protects 4,000 miles of trail in Washington and nearly a quarter of all national forest land. We've made it easy; take one minute to submit a comment today. (You can increase your impact even more by customizing your comment!)

Winter is coming in the mountains… Although, technically, fall has only just officially begun, the off-season has begun in the high country:

• Bear poles will come down at Mount Rainier backcountry camps starting on Oct.4. Backpackers will need to carry bear canisters. 
• The North Cascades Visitor Center in Newhalem is closed for the season. The Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount is open 7–11:30 a.m. and 12:30–4 p.m. daily through Oct. 10. 
• Olympic National Forest has closed five seasonal gates in the South Fork Skokomish River and Wynooshee River watersheds for wildlife protection. The gates restrict access to motorized vehicles; hiking and non-motorized biking is still permitted. The gates will reopen on May 1. 

New ADA trail: Heybrook Ridge County Park reopened this week after several months of closure due to Snohomish County Parks’ work to bring the Erinswood Trail to ADA standards and install benches and interpretive signs. The county park houses both the Heybrook Ridge (Leovy) and Erinswood trails. Getting those trails to where they are now has been over a decade of work, from planning to execution, between Snohomish County Parks, the Friends of Heybrook Ridge and WTA. A ribbon-cutting celebration is planned at Heybrook Ridge County Park on Friday, Oct. 9, at 2 p.m. All are welcome! 

Final call for hiking workshop: There’s still time to sign up for a WTA Outdoor Leadership Training hiking workshop! This Saturday, Oct. 3, we’ll be hosting a 6-hour entry-level course at the Northern State Recreation Area in Sedro-Woolley. The course is focused on leading a successful hiking trip with a youth group. We have a fall promotional rate, so join us on this workshop at a reduced cost! Registration is open through noon on Friday, Oct. 2. 

Weekend 5K fun: Looking for last-minute weekend plans in the Seattle-area? Join WTA at the Seattle Kraken 5K at Green Lake Park! WTA ambassadors will have a table to talk about WTA, our work and how you can support us, and about the special North Cascades themed Seattle Kraken game on Dec. 6, featuring a special partnership with WTA. 

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