The Smoky Mountain Hiking Blog: Lend a Hand on National Public Lands Day

September 26th is your chance to be a part of the nation's largest, single-day volunteer effort for public lands. Each year, hundreds of thousands of volunteers come together on the fourth Saturday in September to assist with various projects designed to restore and enhance public parks, forests, waterways and more. From trail maintenance to tree planting—volunteers of all ages and abilities roll up their sleeves and work side-by-side to care for public lands. The day also features a variety of hikes, bike rides, community festivals, paddling excursions, and other fun outdoor activities—all set on the backdrop of the country’s public lands and waterways.

This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended many aspects of daily life in this country, and our public lands are no exception. Due to social distancing requirements remaining in place for the foreseeable future, many public lands sites will be unable to host large, in-person NPLD events. With this in mind, NEEF has announced that they will be expanding the available options for volunteers during this year’s NPLD on September 26, 2020.

Virtual and In-Person Events for NPLD 2020 The theme for NPLD 2020 is "More Ways to Connect to Nature." In addition to the standard NPLD programming, this year's celebration will include virtual events designed to connect the public to iconic parks, national forests, marine estuaries, and other public lands sites. These online events will serve as an alternative for NPLD site managers who are uncomfortable with or are not allowed to host in-person events due to local regulations.

This does not mean there won't be any in-person events. Public land sites that wish to host in-person events—in accordance with local rules and regulations regarding COVID-19—will still be able to register their event on the NEEF website.

Please click here to check out the official National Public Lands Day event map, which makes it easy to find all of the events that will be available later this month.