Updated 11/21/2025

Hikers and backpackers share a deep connection to the land. But preserving our trails takes collective effort. Here’s how you can support organizations working to protect the places we love.

As hikers and backpackers in the Pacific Northwest, it’s easy to take the public lands that we spend time in for granted. When I moved to Oregon in 2007, I didn’t know I would become an avid hiker and eventually, a hiking book author and blogger. But since that time, I’ve grown to not only appreciate all that this area has to offer, I’ve discovered a need to spend as much time in the backcountry as I possibly can. Nothing else provides the sense of peace to my soul the way that the wilderness does. Because of this, it is very important to me to help protect these areas. If we lose them, they are gone forever.

There are many ways you can make a positive difference. Here are a few ideas:

• Become a member of a trail-related organization. There are many non-profits dedicated to protecting public lands – and they need our support.
• Advocacy for trails, whether that’s contacting elected representatives or helping to shape policies, is important if we want a voice in deciding how public lands are protected. Our voices have power—when we choose to use them.
• Trail maintenance is a great way to give back. Volunteers are now responsible for most of the work done to keep trails in shape, and it’s also a great way to meet other hikers while providing this much needed assistance. Without volunteers, the trails we all use could cease to be there for us.
• Consider whether you have skills that could be of use to organizations. Over the last five years, I’ve donated my graphic design skills to the Washington Trails Association on various projects, including map and report design work. These projects have been immensely rewarding – offering me a chance to get to know WTA and everything they do to support hikers while doing volunteer work that I enjoy.
• Writing trip reports is another way to give back… sharing current conditions helps other hikers plan their trips and know what to expect, which can potentially also help land managers make the most of their resources.

No matter what type of assistance you are interested in providing, these are just a few of the groups to consider supporting.

Pacific Northwest Organizations

• Trailkeepers of Oregon
  “Today, almost all trails on our public lands are now maintained by volunteers. From team building events, to trail parties, and organizing behind the scenes, there’s a way everyone can help. We begin with maintenance and stewardship projects that preserve current trails, with the idea that we’re not willing to lose another trail to neglect. We’re also committed to restoring proper funding and renewing public agency interest in trails for all the proven benefits they provide for the public.”
• Washington Trails Association
  “As the nation’s largest state-based hiking nonprofit organization, Washington Trails Association is the voice for hikers in Washington state. We protect hiking trails and wildlands, take volunteers out to maintain trails, and promote hiking as a healthy, fun way to explore the outdoors.”
• Friends of the Columbia River Gorge
  “The unparalleled beauty of the Columbia Gorge is a treasure for all who live in the Pacific Northwest, and for visitors from around the world as well. We want to be sure it stays beautiful for generations to come. Friends works to ensure that the protections mandated by the federal Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act are honored and upheld.”
• Oregon Wild
  “Our wilderness, wildlife, waters, and old-growth forest programs protect pristine drinking water, unparalleled recreation opportunities, and fish and wildlife habitat across Oregon. With a small staff, which includes regional coordinators who live and work in each corner of Oregon, and the power of thousands of members, e-mail activists, and volunteers, Oregon Wild works to maintain environmental laws, while building broad community support for our campaigns.”
• Nature Conservancy – Oregon
  “The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. The Nature Conservancy has helped protect more than 500,000 acres of important habitats in Oregon.”
• Oregon Natural Desert Association
  “Not far from Oregon’s signature moss-dripped forests lays a high desert wildland that stretches across half the state. Out here, gnarled juniper trees, sheer canyons, craggy peaks and quiet expanses provide a vast haven for wildlife, as well as a wonderland for outdoor adventures. This is the awe-inspiring place that the Oregon Natural Desert Association works to protect, defend and restore for current and future generations.”
• Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center
  “The Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center is an advocate for the forests, wildlife and waters of the Klamath and Rogue River Basins of southwest Oregon and northwest California. We use environmental law, science, collaboration, education and grassroots organizing to defend healthy ecosystems and help build sustainable communities.”

National Organizations

• National Parks Conservation Association
  “With more than 1.6 million members and supporters beside us, we are the voice of America’s national parks, working to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for present and future generations. We celebrate the parks — and work tirelessly to defend them — whether on the ground, in the courtroom or on Capitol Hill.”
• The Wilderness Society
  “Together we can protect public lands, now and forever. Each day thousands of acres of wild places are lost to mining, drilling, logging and other development. But we don’t have to give it all away. Together, we can save our wildest lands for future generations.”
• Leave No Trace
  “Leave No Trace pioneers science and provides proven, research-based solutions for the protection of the natural world. The organization accomplishes its mission by providing innovative education, skills, research and science to help people care for the outdoors. By working with the public and those managing public lands, Leave No Trace focuses on educating people—instead of costly restoration programs or access restrictions—as the most effective and least resource-intensive solution to land protection.”
• Pacific Crest Trail Association
  “The mission of the Pacific Crest Trail Association is to protect, preserve and promote the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail as a world-class experience for hikers and equestrians, and for all the values provided by wild and scenic lands.”

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