January 8, 2013 > Join the 2013 Trails Challenge Join the 2013 Trails Challenge Submitted By Isa Polt-Jones Beginning Wednesday, January 16, the East Bay Regional Park District is accepting registrations for the 2013 Trails Challenge. Last year 10,000 participants joined the challenge. Thanks to a partnership with Kaiser Permanente of Northern California, the Trails Challenge is offered free to residents of Alameda and Contra Costa counties. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the popular outdoors program. The Trails Challenge is a self-guided hiking program that gives participants an incentive to discover their Regional Parks, while promoting fitness through enjoyable outdoor exercise. Participants who register for the Trails Challenge receive a free T-shirt and online access to the 2013 trail guidebook. The booklet includes detailed trail descriptions, including driving directions, for hikes in 20 Regional Parks or Trails. Hikes range from easy to challenging. There are trails open to hikers, bicyclists and equestrians, and many are wheelchair accessible. To complete the actual challenge, participants are asked to hike five of the trails and send in their log after doing so. They will receive a commemorative pin mailed to them. As in past challenges, the honor system applies. Registration officially opens Wednesday, January 16, but aspiring participants may prepare by creating their online account at www.RegionalParksFoundation.org. No telephone registrations are accepted for this program. 2013 Featured Parks Trails: Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve Briones Regional Park Coyote Hills Regional Park Crockett Hills Regional Park Diablo Foothills Regional Park Del Valle Regional Park Garin/Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Parks Iron Horse Trail Las Trampas Regional Wilderness Marsh Creek Regional Trail Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline Martinez Regional Shoreline Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park Quarry Lakes Regional Park Redwood Regional Park Round Valley Regional Preserve Sobrante Ridge Regional Preserve Tilden Regional Park