What we do
Our mission is to create more meaningful access to nature for people with disabilities--beyond the visitors center, beyond the accessible bathroom, out of earshot and eyesight of the parking lot! We do this by working with land managers to identify opportunities for trail improvements that enable more people of all abilities to get out further into nature AND by getting people with disabilities--along with their family and friends--out onto existing trails using our grant-funded fleet of adaptive trail wheelchairs and hand-cycles.
We're also working to make more miles of trails more available for people with disabilities.
Our work for the disability community began with a federal grant in 2017 to assess hiking trails in federal lands surrounding Las Vegas for their access characteristics. While assessing what were identified as the closest to "accessible" trails at Lake Mead National Recreation area, Red Rock Canyon, and the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, we never encountered a single person with a visible disability. Was there anywhere they could actually immerse themselves within the natural settings of these amazing places?
Our disability community is diverse.
"Accessible trail" means different things to different people.
In order to meet a variety of needs for outdoor experiences, we aim to host hikes and mountain biking :
- with a variety of group sizes,
- on a variety of trails with different surfaces, grades, cross-slopes, lengths, and scenic settings,
- with a variety of adaptive equipment.
