June 9, 2014. Last Friday afternoon, Grandfather Mountain State Park’s TRACK Trail was dedicated. The interpretive nature hike follows the 1-mile easy lower part of the Profile Trail (2-miles roundtrip). The trail offers adults and kids four brochures to help them learn about the forest. This is the 85th TRACK Trail in the country, thanks to an innovative, award-winning effort by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation‘s Kids in Parks program.
The trails are spreading nationwide in city, county, state and national parks, encouraging kids to enjoy healthy outdoor exercise by visiting many trails and even winning prizes. Other TRACK Trails are available at Elk Knob and New River State Parks, Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, and Price Park Picnic Area. The “Uncovering Cove Forests” brochure was developed specifically for Grandfather Mountain State Park.
The Kids in Parks TRACK Trails program is a network of family-friendly trails in public lands designed to get kids “unplugged” outdoors and reconnected with nature for their health and the health of our parks. Each TRACK Trail is a series of self-guided adventures that will turn an ordinary hike into a full-filled outdoor experience. Kids can earn prizes for tracking their TRACK Trail adventures in an online nature journal.
The Grandfather Mountain State Park TRACK Trail follows the first mile of the Profile Trail and is appropriate for children.
Kids in Parks is an initiative of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, and its partners include the North Carolina’s state parks system, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation.
For more information on Kids in Parks, go to www.kidsinparks.com.
For more information on North Carolina State Parks, go to www.ncparks.gov
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