New Hiking Trail App Designed To Help Avoid Crowded Trails

SEATTLE (AP) – Hiking season is underway in the Pacific Northwest and there’s a new app for outdoor enthusiasts looking to explore some of Washington State’s most popular trails. The pandemic created the need to go outside, says Mat Lyons, president of Trails, Recreation, Education, Advocacy, Development, or TREAD, a non-profit that connects people with public lands. The TREAD Map App pilot program will provide real-time trail and recreational data through spring and summer 2021 in Central Washington. The app is currently functional in Kittitas, Grant, Douglas, Chelan, and Okanagan counties, where heavy public lands use is expected during the summer.