By TOM DEAN
For The Beachcomber

June 6 is National Trails Day — an opportunity to celebrate trails and what they do for us. Being out in nature is a great way to get some exercise and reduce stress. A day with a hike in it is a better day. Getting a glimpse of Mount Rainier or taking the time to notice how the season is changing is a big part of why we live here.

National Trails Day on the island will be a busy one. Runners will be competing in the Vashon Ultra, using trails through Island Center Forest and around Fisher Pond. At the same time, Dockton Park will be home base for the Fourth Annual Vashon Nature Center BioBlitz — a 24-hour effort to document plant and animal species for a specific area, focused this year on Dockton forest and the Maury Marine Park. Both are great ways to celebrate National Trails Day. And if you just want to take a hike, there’s still Shinglemill canyon, Christensen Pond or a walk on the beach at Point Robinson.

So many options! If you moved to Vashon in the last 10 years, you might think it has always been this way. But the status of trails on Vashon is an ever-changing landscape. Before there were roads, there were trails. Once horses were brought to the island, those trails provided overland connections between the many docks that served the growing beach communities. As the road system was developed, it was equestrians who continued to use and maintain trails. Eventually, trail riding became less of a necessity and more of a sport.

As Vashon became more developed, many of those trail routes across private land were lost. The trail network began to shrink, focusing down on the largest area of public land — the state lands now protected as part of Island Center Forest. The Vashon Maury Island Land Trust, working with King County and many other partners, has been working to reverse this trend. In two short decades, most of the trails you know and love have been protected, constructed, improved and expanded.

Our focus now is to provide connections between island parks and preserves. We want to create long and permanent routes that can be passed to the next generations. We want to support and encourage those who are already using trails to commute to school or work, or to shopping or a show.

How would you like to be able to walk or bike from Vashon Town to Minglement at Center without setting foot on the highway? Imagine starting in Island Center Forest and hiking the length of Judd Creek, all the way to Quartermaster Harbor. Or starting at Fisher Pond and emerging in Fern Cove? The land trust is working to make these projects a reality.

Of course, we can’t do it alone. Watch for opportunities to get involved this summer as the land trust develops a new Paradise Valley Loop Trail — scheduled for opening in August.

In the meantime remember to get out on a trail, take a deep breath and celebrate National Trails Day.

—Tom Dean is the executive director of the Vashon Maury Island Land Trust.