Children, families invited to take a hike Saturday

Inaugural Take a Kid Hiking Day set for trail near Hyde Memorial State Park

Three local hiking enthusiasts are encouraging families to get outdoors Saturday, and they have organized the first of what they hope will become an annual tradition of introducing kids to the open lands and forested wilderness surrounding Santa Fe.

Take a Kid Hiking Day is the brainchild of Elaine Pinkerton, who also goes by Elaine Coleman, author of Santa Fe on Foot: Adventures in the City Different. She envisioned an early summer day when parks and trails would be filled with children and adults enjoying nature together.

Tim Rogers, another organizer, proposed a community stroll that day on an easy forest path where hikers of all ages and skill levels could venture together, said Richard Polese, the third member of the trio.

The plan, which evolved into a communitywide event featuring a 1.2-mile guided group walk on a Dale Ball Trail System loop near Hyde Memorial State Park, drew support from a couple of local businesses that are donating snacks and bottled water for walkers, and from the mayor and City Council, which approved a resolution Wednesday declaring Saturday’s inaugural Take a Kid Hiking Day a city-sanctioned event.

“The city kind of adopted it,” Polese said of the children’s hiking day and featured walk, which begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Sierra del Norte Trailhead on Hyde Park Road, about a 3-mile drive from the Santa Fe Plaza and just before the state park.

The trailhead is one of the first along the left side of Hyde Park Road, he said, and is well-marked.

There’s no need for special gear or provisions, and there’s no cost to participate, Polese said. “You don’t need to bring anything” — except a kid.

He has no idea how many people might show up for Saturday’s community hike, Polese said. “We’re prepared, whether there’s 10 people or 100 people — or 500. We’ll do it. And there should be plenty of water and snacks provided by Smith’s Foods and La Montañita Co-op.”

“We hope it becomes an annual event,” he said, adding that all three organizers are avid hikers, and some have even completed “cross-America walks.”

Polese said the city’s proclamation of Take a Kid Hiking Day noted the many miles of trails around Santa Fe for adult hikers to enjoy with kids, as well as the benefits of hiking for both mind and body.

“We’d really like people to come out on Saturday,” Polese said of the guided hike on the Sierra del Norte Trail, but “if you can’t come, just get out and walk with your kids at a park or labyrinth or anywhere.”