Disabled Hikers

01/12/2026

Do you need an accessible challenge to inspire you to notice more in nature this year? Do you want to celebrate Disabled ways of experiencing the natural world? Join our Disability is Natural Challenge!

The Disability is Natural Challenge is meant to inspire you to enjoy nature in the ways that are accessible for you, have fun with other participants, and help you grow in awareness and connection with place.

52 times over the next 12 months, notice something in nature. It can be anything - big or small - and anywhere - outside your window, from the car, or on a trail. Document what you notice in some way - a photo, a voice note, a sketch - and post it. You can tag us and use and Participate as often as feels fun for you!

As a bonus, join our fundraiser! Create a team to pledge for you, or make a donation on your own. Its a fun way to raise awareness and support Disabled Hikers.

You can learn more where the clicks are found!

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01/01/2026

Happy New Year!!

We hope you are having a wonderful start to 2026. We're busy resting and planning for all of the ways we will continue supporting disability community and expanding justice in the outdoors this year. Our commitment is as strong as ever and we can't wait to share our plans with you.

What are you committing to this year?

ID: Cursive text reads happy new year 2026. Background photo of a mountain range with gradient colors of pink to black.

12/27/2025

It is hard to believe 2025 is almost over! This year has been filled with challenges for many. But we are so grateful for the opportunity to be in community with you. We remain committed to fighting for disability access and belonging in the outdoors and beyond.

As the largest marginalized community that anyone can join in an instant (over 25% of the US population has at least one disability, 60% have a chronic illness), it is past time for Disabled people to be centered, recognized, and uplifted for the skills and experience that we possess. By centering access and disability justice, we can create a better world for the billions of people who experience disability. Non-disabled people already benefit from accessibility, and we are fighting to expand access for the cross-disability community as well.

If you would like to support our work, there are a few days left to make a charitable donation.

ID: Thank you for an incredible year. We are so grateful for the opportunity to be in community with you. There are a few days left to make a tax deductible donation in support of our work. Photo at the top of a group of disabled hikers on a bridge. Photo at the bottom of a group of disabled hikers on a trail in the redwoods.

12/21/2025

Happy Winter Solstice! In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is the point in our planet’s movement when the North Pole tilts the furthest away from the sun. This year, it occurs on December 21 at 1:03pm Pacific time. It is the shortest day and longest night of the year. Beginning December 22, we slowly move back towards the sun, gaining more daylight every day.

The Solstice has been recognized by many indigenous peoples and earth connected cultures. Marking the earth's natural calendar is a great way to re-connect with nature, whether you can go outside or not!

As the light slowly returns and we settle deeper into winter, Disabled Hikers is also practicing rest. We’ll be taking a winter break from December 22 - January 23 to align with seasonal and disability justice practices (and Syren’s birthday!). We’ll be available for urgent matters January 5 - 16, and have scheduled some social posts, but otherwise will be taking our first real break of the year.

Wishing you and yours a warm, happy, peaceful winter season!

ID: Happy Winter Solstice from Disabled Hikers. Background photo of a snow covered road lines with snowy trees. A mountain rises in the center background, with the sun just cresting above it.

12/18/2025

If you have spent a lot of time in hospitals or institutions or forced to lie in bed, rest can be very triggering. When you spend long periods of your life forced to not do anything, rest can feel like a punishment. Medical and psychiatric trauma are real.

At this time of year, we can get a lot of messaging about rest and productivity that lack nuance, even within disability justice spaces. So this post is a shout out to all of our sick, crip, mad, and disabled community out there who struggle with finding Crip space for rest. You are valid too.

When I talk about rest, I mean making a practice of it - emphasis on practicing. Personally, I struggle with it due to trauma, neurodivergence, and just having too much on my shoulders - as many marginalized, working class, and disabled people do. For me, rest usually means actively creating space that feels more open, where I am able to reflect and find some joy. Its an active, not passive process.

Whatever rest feels like for you, we hope you can create some moments of it. You deserve joy.

ID: Rest can be triggering. Background photo of mountains against the sky with aurora overhead.

12/18/2025

Happy Winter Solstice 🌟 -

Happy Winter Solstice from Disabled Hikers. Background photo of a sunburst above mountains in the background with a snowy river in the foreground.

12/16/2025

Disabled Hikers has had another impactful year! 2025 marks 8 years of fighting for disability access, belonging, and justice in the outdoors. Disabled folks are necessarily skilled at adapting, and that has definitely been true for our organization: through ongoing pandemic, adversarial federal administrations, funding cuts, declining interest in DEIA we have continued to push back against a culture of ableism and carve out space for our communities.

Our work is broad, and much of it happens behind the scenes. This year we created over 120 social media posts to raise awareness, hosted 19 events, completed 16 projects, held 10 trainings, were published in 10 articles, and participated in 7 policy and advocacy campaigns.

We raised $91,000 to carry our work into 2026, and hope to raise at least $150,000 next year to build our capacity. We still operate with one paid staff, a small board, and project volunteers. Our impact is both tangible and subtle - creating shifts in the way people think about disability and access, while centering our diverse community.

Thank you for support over the years. We couldn't do it without you. If you would like to make an end of year donation, please visit the website.

12/14/2025

We had so much fun at our holiday lights stroll with last night, that I completely forgot to take photos! So here is a little winter light and color for you, from last year. 😊

Thanks to Loni for co-hosting us again, and helping to make the experience accessible for everyone!

If you're in NW Washington, I highly recommend a visit to the tribal campus, and all of the public Jamestown S'Klallam properties, for the lights, nature, and to learn about the S'Klallam. Reach out if you have accessibility questions!

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12/12/2025

One of the ways that ableism shows up in outdoor recreation is in the expectation that we have to push past our limits to be valid, have a meaningful experience, or somehow be "changed" by nature. The same thread weaves through settler colonialism "conquering" the wilderness.

But we all have limits - humans, animals, and ecosystems. Pushing past them is dangerous more often than fulfilling. We're certainly experiencing the impacts of decades of pushing nature beyond the limits, as ecosystems become increasingly disabled through climate change.

Challenging ourselves can, of course, lead to personal growth and a sense of accomplishment, but it is not the only way, and it should always be with consent (your own and the landscape). We don't have to constantly push ourselves or each other to be "fully realized" people.

So celebrate yourself for honoring your limits as much as you do for pushing them. That is love, that is challenging ableism, and it has as much potential for personal growth.

ID: honoring limitations is an act of love. Background photo of a mountain peaks rising above a dirt trail.

12/09/2025

This week, our final gatherings of the year (and probably until Spring)!

Thursday at 4pm Pacific, a virtual gathering open to disability community members from anywhere!

Saturday at 4:30pm, a stroll n roll of the winter lights at the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Campus in Blyn, WA!

All are free to attend, masks required at the in person gathering. Details where the clicks are found!

12/06/2025

New trail guide alert!

We love a trail + public art + a gallery. If you're visiting Olympic National Park, Port Angeles Fine Arts Center has all three! Syren completed an assessment of the trails at Webster's Woods Sculpture Park at the arts center, so you know what to expect.

Rated 2 spoons, the recommended route is 0.4 mile with maximum 12% grade up to 30 feet long. The trail surface is typically a layer of loose gravel on firm surface. Wheelchair users may have difficulty on the trail. Check out the guide for more details! 🧑‍💻(laptop emoji)

12/04/2025

Did you know that if you have any permanent disability, you can get a free, lifetime America the Beautiful pass? The pass provides free entry to most national parks, forests, monuments, and wildlife refuges where fees are collected.

Your disability does not have to be physical! Any permanent disability that "significantly impacts one or more life activities" qualifies.

You can apply online or in person at any visitor center or park office where passes are sold. I highly recommend applying in person, if you can! You may need a letter from your doctor, but check with the office.

You can find more details, including requirements and application, on the National Park Service Access Pass page.

ID: America the beautiful access pass has a photo of an owl and the accessibility symbol. A hand holds it with flowers in the background.