Reading Hospital and its Community Wellness Department are pleased to sponsor the sixth annual Berks Trail Challenge. The Challenge begins on Monday, May 1 and continues through Tuesday, October 31.
Participants can visit BeWellBerks.org to register and print out a Trail Challenge Card for each participant, or family, to record trail visits, as well as a Guided Hikes Schedule. The challenge card highlights eight local trails, ranging in length from one mile, to nine-and-a-half miles long, and includes the difficulty, level, and terrain of each. Participants also have the option of supplementing their Trail Challenge Card with a maximum of two extra trails not included on the list. Trail Challenge Cards must be submitted by Friday, November 10, to be entered to win a prize. Forty winners will be selected at random.
Guided hikes will also be offered throughout the challenge, hosted by members of Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club, Berks County Parks & Recreation, and Altitūd Outdoors. Participation in guided hikes is not a requirement to be eligible for a prize. New to this year's schedule are a series of bilingual hikes, as noted with an asterisk below.
Upcoming hikes include:
- Pagoda to Peace Rock White Trail - June 3, 10 a.m. *
- Antietam Lake to Mount Penn Loop - June 17, 10 a.m.
- Perimeter Trail Loop - June 24, 10 a.m. *
- Green Hills Preserve - July 8, 10 a.m.
- Ridgeway Trail at Gibraltar Hill - July 15, 10 a.m. *
- Ridgeway Trail at Gibraltar Hill - July 29, 10 a.m.
- Sand Spring and Tom Lowe Trails - August 12, 10 a.m.
- Pagoda to Peace Rock White Trail - August 19, 10 a.m.
- Neversink Trail, Orange Loop - August 26, 10 a.m. *
- Neversink Trail, Orange Loop - September 9, 10 a.m.
- Perimeter Trail Loop - September 16, 10 a.m.
- Union Canal Tail - October 14, 10 a.m.
Desha Dickson, Tower Health Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Wellness, said, “We are always looking for opportunities to expand our programs; adding bilingual guided hikes was an obvious next step to make this event more inclusive for all members of our community. We know prevention is medicine, and this program encourages Berks County residents to participate in a great, free opportunity to get outside and explore the local community with their family and friends. This year, I urge all participants to not only revisit their favorite trails from past challenges, but to also explore new ones.”
Participants are encouraged to take pictures or videos of their trail outings, and post them using the hashtag #BerksTrailChallenge and tag any of the Reading Hospital - Tower Health social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Be Well Berks is an initiative of the Community Wellness Department of Reading Hospital. The mission is to improve the health and wellness of Berks County residents through thoughtful leadership, partnership, and community investment.
About Reading Hospital
Reading Hospital is the flagship, Magnet Recognized, acute care hospital of Tower Health. Located in West Reading, Pa., Reading Hospital is a 697-bed hospital that is home to many top-tier specialty care centers, including Reading HealthPlex, McGlinn Cancer Institute, Miller Regional Heart Center, Emergency Department, Level I Trauma Center and Beginnings Maternity Center, which houses the region's only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). With more than 1,000 physicians, specialists, and advanced practice providers across 49 locations, Reading Hospital has been recognized for its quality outcomes and clinical expertise across services lines. It is listed as one of America's 100 Best Hospitals for four consecutive years (and moving up to America’s 50 Best Hospitals in 2022) and received a 5-Star Rating from CMS two years in a row. For more information, visit towerhealth.org.