Celebrate Public Lands Day by Riding your Bike

Get out and enjoy public lands by bike this Saturday.
Photo: Matt Miller

Every last Saturday of September is public lands day, which is a pretty good time of year to be out enjoying public lands, especially if it’s on your mountain bike. The temperatures are cooling down, the colors are changing and for those reasons and others, this happens to be a nice time to enjoy nature. Public Lands Day also means that many parks waive their fees so more people can get out and enjoy America’s vast land.

The Adventure Cycling Association has dubbed this day as Bike Your Park Day “to inspire people across America to explore nearby parks and public lands by bike while promoting a healthy, sustainable way to travel,” said Carmen Aiken, the Bike Overnights Event Coordinator for Adventure Cycling.

Adventure Cycling has planned rides across the nation, and for those who aren’t ready for the group atmosphere, they encourage riding solo or with family and close friends. The organization says that over the past five years, over 50,000 people have participated in more than 5,000 rides for Bike Your Park Day.

Interested riders can register here to lead a ride or check out the existing rides. You’ll also be entered to win a Co-Motion Americano bike and the first 250 people to register to lead a trip will also get a Bike Your Park Day patch and sticker from Adventure Cycling.

Leading a ride can mean a casual jaunt down a path with family, a gravel century through forests and mountains, a stewardship-focused ride, or even something educational.

For those looking for something tasty to drink after a ride or dig day on the trail, 10 Barrel Brewing has a new Action Pack’d variety pack consisting of three different IPAs and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Outdoor Alliance, the Conservation Alliance, the Surfrider Foundation, and Reel Good.