The National Trails Parks and Recreational District has many fun programs throughout the summer and for anyone that likes to hike, the Trail Hikers may be a fun option for you.

The Trail Hiker meet every Wednesday at 10 a.m. On the first and third Wednesday of each month, the group meets at Rebert Pike Nature Park and on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, they meet at New Reid Park. If there is a fifth Wednesday in any month, they meet at Rebert Pike Nature Park again.

This group has been around for a year and a half and they hoped by starting a program like this, more people would hear about and use the relatively new Rebert Pike Nature Park. Since this program has begun they have seen an increase of activity at the park.

Rebert Park Nature Park is somewhat of a hidden treasure because most people do not realize it exists. The 90-acre property has been owned by National Trails for 60 years or more, but they had only been doing basic upkeep on it. Just a few years ago, they started looking at how to make that property more usable to the public and began clearing it as a park. Volunteers from the community and local boy scout clubs did most of the work on the park including mapping the walking paths and trails, clearing out the viewing area, and building bridges and the shelter house. The park includes hiking trails, woodland areas, prairies, and wetlands.

Carl Current has lived in Enon his entire life and has been attending the Trail Hikers since it was started.

“I walk in multiple groups, but I like coming to this park on Wednesdays because it is close to my house,” Current said, “I don’t have to drive into Springfield and there is a lot of diversity in this park.”

The trail hikers spend an hour walking on some of the 4 miles that the Rebert Pike Nature Park has to offer. Someone from the Park District meets anyone who had shown up to hike with a map and leads them down a different path. The group is self-paced so hikers can go as slow or fast as they like. At the end of the hour, the group has usually hiked a couple miles through the park. The group is full of regulars who come every week, but they love new faces. The group varies in size from week to week, but they are always welcoming to newcomers. If a member comes 10 times throughout the summer, they receive a free t-shirt from National Trails.

This past week, there were seven hikers and a dog named Louie, who comes so regularly that he has became a bit of a mascot for the hikers.

The Trail Hikers is not the only program like this that National trails offers. They have a Trail Walkers which was the first program like this that they implemented. This groups meets in various locations and walks on pavement. This can be easier for people who may not be able to handle trails or hills. Once a month, the group bring in medical professionals to do free blood pressure checks for all the participants. Usually there are 20 to 40 people at each session of Trail Walkers.

There is also a group that meets called the Trail Riders. This groups rides bikes on the bike trail and stops to get lunch at the end of the ride. There are normally 20-30 riders each week and once a month, National Trails hold a bike clinic for those who want to learn how to ride or more about bike maintenance. A full schedule of where these groups meet can be found at National Trails website.

The programs are sponsored by “Care for Your Air”, a program that is dedicated to activities that do not rely on things that hurt the air. More information about them can be found at their website, careforyourair.org.