We're well into 2016. I don't even mess up the year on checks anymore.

Most people have probably already given up on their New Year's resolutions. But it's not too late to start a new challenge for yourself to motivate you to get outdoors and log some miles on the trails. Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area I've noticed that challenges are a fairly common technique used by parks organizations to encourage outdoor activities.

Here's a sampling of parks and hiking challenges sponsored by organizations in the Bay Area.

Healthy Trails (Santa Clara County Parks)
https://www.sccgov.org/s...ages/Healthy-Trails.aspx
Walk, run or ride on 5 of the 22 featured healthy trails in the Santa Clara Parks system

Klondike Challenge (Jack London State Park)
http://jacklondonpark.com/klondike-challenge.html
Walk or hike 500 miles in 2016 to commemorate Jack London's trip to the Klondike during the Gold Rush. Park is in Sonoma County, but hikes outside of the county are also allowed.

Trails Challenge (Sonoma County Parks)
http://parks.sonomacount...es/Trails_Challenge.aspx
Hike or ride at 5 of Sonoma County Parks' 50 locations. Current info refers to 2015 and the 2016 edition, if any, may not start until June or July.

Trails Challenge (East Bay Regional Park District)
http://www.ebparks.org/trailschallenge
Hike 26.2 miles or five of the district's featured trails.

In some cases there are small prizes for participants who complete a given challenge. Regardless, the statement of a goal itself is often enough to spur additional outings and more mileage. Even if a challenge is not completed you've won something.

I'm personally registered for the Klondike Challenge. I've only logged about 72 out of 500 miles but business travel and tons of rain have really hampered my efforts in February and early March. I have no doubt once the rains subside the deficit will be made up.

Many of the hikes you log for challenges such as these can be logged right here on HikingTrailhead.com. I've logged everything outside of walks on sidewalks through town in my log book.

Not in the Bay Area? I'm sure there are more of these around the country and perhaps outside the US. Seek them out and let us know if you find any. More importantly, sign up yourself and get outside!

With my latest hike I've officially surpassed the 500 mile goal for the Klondike Challenge, sponsored by our nearby Jack London State Historic Park. Coppertone finished her 500 miles in July, or something close to that. Not all of my mileage is logged on Hiking Trailhead because a good deal of the distance was spent walking on sidewalks around the city and not on "proper" trails. Because we've both surpassed 500 miles we'll be able to attend the Klondike Challenge Graduation party in January.



Earlier this year we both also finished the Sonoma Regional Parks Trails Challenge by logging hikes in 5 parks. For our efforts we were rewarded with a nice trail pin.

With 2017 just around the corner there's bound to be a new set of challenges that await.

My final mileage for the Klondike Challenge: 512.45
Final mileage for my wife for said Challenge: 909+

She wins!