The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) is once again encouraging residents to welcome a new year by hitting its trails.
The First Hike Fairfax photo contest will return for New Year’s Day 2025, offering prizes to park visitors who take a snap while strolling or hiking and upload it to the FCPA website. The link will be posted online by 7 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday).
Photos must be uploaded by noon on Thursday, Dec. 2 to qualify. Each individual can only submit one photo, but people in families or groups can each submit their own entry.
Provided by the Fairfax County Park Foundation, which supports the park authority through fundraising and partnerships, the prizes will be:
- People’s Choice: $100 Park Authority Gift Card
- Judges’ Choice: $100 Park Authority Gift Card
- Director’s Choice: $100 Park Authority Gift Card
- Best in Show (Scenery/Landscapes): $75 Park Authority Gift Card
- Best in Show (People): $75 Park Authority Gift Card
- Best in Show (Wildlife): $75 Park Authority Gift Card
- Best in Show (Pets): $75 Park Authority Gift Card
The FCPA oversees 420 parks and more than 334 miles of trails. It introduced the First Hike Fairfax contest in 2017 to bolster the nationwide “First Day Hikes” initiative organized by America’s State Parks, which wants people to “start the year on the right foot” by going outdoors and connecting with nature.
Those looking to catch the year’s first sunrise can join a naturalist at Burke Lake Park (7315 Ox Road), who will lead a hike from 6:30-7:30 a.m. The Fairfax Station park is also offering a “First Sunset Hike” for anyone who isn’t an early bird.
Last year’s First Hike Fairfax contest drew more than 350 entries. The winners depicted a variety of scenes, from a kid dressed in a fox costume looking out from a bridge at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park in Chantilly to ducks spotted both mid-flight and on the water at Huntley Meadows Park in Hybla Valley.
For the First Day Hikes initiative, some of Virginia’s state parks will offer ranger-led hikes, including Mason Neck State Park.
The Lorton park will kick off the new year with a morning hike from Kane’s Creek to Eagle Spur Trail at 7:30 a.m. Starting at 9:30 a.m., rangers will be stationed along the Woodmarsh and Great Marsh trails to provide insights to bird-watchers, particularly about tundra swans, and then, there will be a 1-mile hike on High Point Trail from 2:30-4 p.m.
