Name: Trails and Sails 2024 - 200+ free events in Essex County towns - Sept 14 -29th
Start: 2024-09-14T10:00:00-04:00
End: 2024-09-27T12:00:00-04:00

**What Is It?**
Its the 28th annual Trails and Sails 2024 program where there are over 200 free fun events open to the public within the 34 Essex County towns. It runs for 16 days (9/14 - 29th). Being open to the public this is listed simply for your awareness and is a "no host/ no leader" set of events and BSOT takes no responsibility for your participation. Folks may want to comment as to what event they will participate in, in hopes of encouraging others to join them, and perhaps even car pool, if that makes sense for both parties. Some events require reservations, some may be first come first served, others are just come as you are, and some may be waitlisted. Many events to choose from. The institutions/ organizations offering events provide them free to the public to showcase their otherwise hidden treasures. Trails and Sails is often a highpoint for the guides and volunteers gifting you with a free event.

**A Sample of Some Offered Events:**
Free paddling (Ipswich, Amesbury, and Plum Island); tour of a tall ship and or cruise on one on the coast (Salem); visit a Historic Shipyard where they still build tall ship replicas (Essex); experience Plumfest with over 100 bands at 50 porchfest locations (Newburyport/ Newbury on Plum Island); street fairs; nature, historic, and art colony trail walks; tour historic gardens; climb to the top of the Gloucester City Hall Bell Tower for spectacular panoramic and scenic views of the harbor and environs; learn to throw an Atlatl spear as a hunter-gatherer; fish with a seine net; tour historic mansions and sites; join a guided bike ride; picnic at an outdoor concert; go birding with a knowledgeable guide; and much more!!!

**How Do You Find the Events and All the Details?**
All the events with descriptions can be found here at: [https://trailsandsails.org/events/](https://trailsandsails.org/events/)
Check out the events online with their mobile friendly web site (with the optional use of search filters by town, date, type, category, theme or accessibility); download your own catalog copy from their website (33 pages); or if you prefer to use a printed hard copy, pick one up at any Essex County Visitors Center or at any municipal library in Essex County, MA.

**What is a National Heritage Area Anyway?**
National Heritage Areas are "places where historic, cultural, and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes. Unlike national parks, National Heritage Areas are large lived-in landscapes. National heritage can refer to a country's qualities, traditions, and features that have been passed down through generations. It can also refer to a place designated by Congress that combines natural, cultural, historic, and scenic resources to create a distinctive landscape." Originally Natural Heritage Area events focused on just outdoor ventures but now include a variety of events and sites highlighting art/culture, historic structures and places, and outdoor landscapes. For more information on National Heritage Areas in MA (and their associated events, see below comments)

Bay State Outdoor Trekkers

Travel & Outdoor

Kayaking

Hiking

Walking

Outdoors

Fun Times

Outdoor Fitness

Adventure

Outdoor Adventures

Backcountry

Backpacking

Healthy Living

Exercise

Trails and Sails 2024 - 200+ free events in Essex County towns -  Sept 14 -29th

Make New Friends

This content is available only to members

Share this event

Grow your community