Hit the Trail Challenge returns in May

The fourth annual Hit the Trail Challenge returns this May.

Whitefish Legacy Partners needs the community’s help to get every dollar as the health and wellness sponsors — High Stakes Foundation, Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, BlueCross BlueShield of Montana and Logan Health Whitefish — have pledged $25,000 in matching funds. For every mile logged on the Whitefish Trail during the month of May, $1 will be donated in support of the Whitefish Trail and our local protected lands.

Participate as an individual for free or participate as a Workplace Team for a fee. School groups, community groups, and nonprofits can participate as Workplace Teams for free. Miles can be logged with an online form, by joining the Hit the Trail Challenge Strava Club, or by paper log sheet. Awards and raffle prizes will be given to top participants.

Sign up and log your miles this May at www.whitefishlegacy.org/hitthetrail.

Last year’s Hit the Trail Challenge engaged 1,150 unique individuals including 17 Workplace Teams and all grade levels at Whitefish Middle School to log 27,345 miles and raise $27,345 for the Whitefish Trail — 8,245 miles were hiked, 14,429 miles biked, 4,228 miles run and 443 miles were logged on horseback. Using average levels of intensity for these activities, participants spent approximately 8,998 hours recreating outside burning 3,418,125 calories during the month of May 2021.

“The Whitefish Trail and surrounding open lands are so incredibly important to our community. Local trails are one of our greatest free health and wellness resources, and our Hit the Trail Challenge encourages the community to improve physical and emotional health through outdoor recreation,” says Alan Davis, Whitefish Legacy Partners Director of Development.

The Whitefish Trail is the anchor project of Whitefish Legacy Partners and the result of collaborative partnerships providing public access and recreation while protecting clean water, thriving forests and prime wildlife habitats on open lands located in the urban interface of Whitefish, Montana. To date, Whitefish Legacy Partners and the City of Whitefish have established 47 miles of a recreational trail system accessed by 15 trailheads.