Washington Trails Association

Washington Trails Association (WTA), the nation’s largest state-based hiking nonprofit organization, mobilizes hikers and everyone who loves the outdoors to explore, steward and champion trails and public lands. 

 In 2022, WTA introduced a wheelchair friendly filter to their hiking guide to make a popular 

resource that is used by hundreds of thousands of hikers more inclusive.  In order to mark a trail as wheelchair friendly in the hiking guide, WTA has a staff person or volunteer verify this in-person by hiking the trail and assessing factors such as the cross slope, width and tread. 

 In partnership with Wyld, WTA estimates that they can add 30 new wheelchair-friendly trails to their hiking guide by reimbursing mileage for volunteers, who are wheelchair users, to scout trails in need of research and write up information on their accessibility. 

 Wyld’s support will also fund WTA’s plan to add another filter to their Hiking Guide, focusing on recent trip reports. By filtering out hikes that don’t have a recent trip report, users can have the most accurate and up to date information possible, helping them avoid trails that would include barriers for wheelchair users, like recently downed trees or landslides. 

To learn more about Washington Trails Association, or to get involved, visit their website.