Out & About: Tell us about your family vacation

OUTTRIP – Some families went on a summer vacation in 2012. Others went the extra mile. If you had an extraordinary outdoor family vacation with at least one adult and one youth, we want to hear about it so we can share some tales.

Email details – and a photo if you can – to editor Rich Landers at richl@spokesman.com.

Friends of Bluffs lead info hikes

OUTDO – Author Jack Nisbet and forester Guy Gifford will be leading walks on Spokane’s South Hill bluff trails this week to explain the value of volunteer efforts and a $50,000 grant to improve the health and fire resistance of the forest below High Drive.

More than 23 miles of trails on the bluffs are prized by local walkers and mountain bikers, but much of the beauty could be snuffed out if a fire erupts before the forest is thinned, said Diana Roberts of the Friends of the Bluffs.

Nisbet, a popular educator, naturalist and South Hill resident, will join Gifford for a two-mile educational walk on Wednesday. The walk will be repeated Aug. 29.

Both walks will start at 6:30 p.m. at 57th and Hatch Street.

Bring water and a thirst to learn about urban forestry and trails.

Info: 477-2167

Public access sites open this week

OUTFIELD – Two notable recreation access sites under construction opened to the public last week:

Th e Big Rock trailhead parking area at the end of Stevens Creek Road providing access to the Rocks of Sharon and the south side of the Iller Creek Conservation Area, managed by Spokane County Parks.

Sportsman Park boat ramp at Hayden Lake following a $250,000 renovation by Idaho Department of Fish and Game to pave the area, add more parking, provide accessible sites and lengthen the boat ramp.

Centennial Trail on Sunset’s ‘best’ list

OUTSTANDING – The Spokane River Centennial Trail — celebrating its 20th anniversary – is listed on Sunset Magazine’s list of 20 Best Bike Paths in the West.

That’s no surprise to people who live here, and ongoing improvements are steadily making the riverside trail even better.

But wait: There’s no mention of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. Most of the trails on Sunset’s list have an urban link. That makes marketing sense, but it clearly diverts attention to what some people might consider the BEST trails.

See more trails listed by Rails to Trails Conservancy, trailink.com.