The Cleveland Metroparks has debuted its Trail Challenge 2021, a program to encourage people to get outdoors, get exercise and discover some of the 30 trails, ranging from 3/10s of a mile to 10 miles, in the 18 park reservations. Trails are paved, natural surface and all-purpose — there are even water trails! You can bike, walk, rollerblade or kayak: “any legal means,” they say.
Sign up for the 2021 Trail Challenge here, and earn free rewards. You’ll earn a sticker for completing 10, 20 or 30. But basically, you’re just competing with yourself.
In addition, the Metroparks has a series of Trail Challenge guided hikes, at different locations and with different themes, including “Hike the Canal” at CanalWay Center (January 23), “Afternoon in the Forest” at Forbes Woods (January 24), “Reading the Weather” at Edgewater Beach House (January 26) and “Dog Hike” at the former Acacia Golf Course. Sign up early or you may end up on the wait list. Go here.
clevelandmetroparks/january/hike-in-the-valley