First Day Hikes 2027: Friday, Jan. 1 Guided Walks, State by State

First Day Hikes in 2027 fall on Friday, Jan. 1, and as of Nov. 4, 2026, the state park pages in Texas, Minnesota, Virginia and Pennsylvania already list hikes for that day. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) says: “Spend the first day of 2027 in a Texas State Park. Find a First Day Hike near you!” Other states have not posted their 2027 hikes yet, and we list them below so you know where to check back. America’s State Parks is the national group behind the program.

First Day Hikes 2027 by state park system

Each row comes from the state’s own page, read on Nov. 4, 2026. We will add the missing states as they post.

State	What its page says on Nov. 4, 2026	Status for Jan. 1, 2027
Texas	TPWD’s event calendar lists Jan. 1 events under January 2027	Posted
Minnesota	The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) lists hikes dated 01/01/27, including Fort Snelling State Park, Lake Bemidji State Park and Minneopa State Park	Posted
Virginia	The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) heading reads “2027 Details Coming Soon”, yet the page lists dozens of Jan. 1, 2027 hikes with times	Posted
Pennsylvania	The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) calendar lists Lackawanna State Park, “Fri, Jan 1, 2027 9am EST”, and Jacobsburg, “Fri, Jan 1, 2027 1pm to 2:30pm EST”	Posted
New York	“Host locations are still being added”; “Please check back for more details.”	Not yet
California	The page shows the 2026 listing only	Not yet
Indiana	The DNR program schedule shows no 2027 events yet	Not yet
North Carolina	The page has no 2027 text yet	Not yet

We could not read the pages for other states, so a state missing from this table is not “no hikes”, only unchecked. Search your state’s park system for “First Day Hike” and look for the 2027 date.

Texas, Virginia, Minnesota and Pennsylvania hikes for Jan. 1, 2027

Texas. TPWD runs a First Day Hikes page and a separate event calendar for the hikes. We are not printing a count.

Minnesota. The DNR names “First Day Hike at Fort Snelling State Park”, “First Day Hike - Snowshoe to the Bog at Lake Bemidji State Park” and “First Day Hike at Minneopa State Park”. The DNR says: “All First Day Hikes are free, but you will need a vehicle permit to enter the park.”

Virginia. The DCR page lists dozens of Jan. 1, 2027 hikes with start times, even though its heading says details are coming soon. On cost, it says: “While nearly all our parks will be free, there are two exceptions.” Open the page to see which two.

Pennsylvania. The DCNR events calendar gives start times in Eastern Standard Time (EST). Lackawanna State Park starts at 9 a.m. and Jacobsburg runs 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

What did New York do for First Day Hikes in 2026?

This is last year’s information. On Dec. 5, 2025, the New York governor’s office said “the normal parking fee at state parks and sites will be waived on January 1” for Jan. 1, 2026. No 2027 waiver has been announced, and the New York State Parks page says host locations are still being added.

How many people joined First Day Hikes in 2025?

The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SCPRT) published preliminary totals for Jan. 1, 2025 on Jan. 9, 2025. We have not found totals for Jan. 1, 2026.

Jan. 1, 2025 (preliminary)	Total
State parks hosting hikes	1,098
Guided hikes	1,448
Participants	over 65,331
Combined miles hiked	165,086

Those are 2025 figures, not a forecast for 2027.

What should you pack for a First Day Hike?

The National Park Service (NPS) Ten Essentials, updated May 28, 2026, are navigation (map, compass and Global Positioning System (GPS)), sun protection (sunglasses, sunscreen and hat), extra clothing (jacket, hat, gloves, rain shell and other layers), illumination (flashlight and headlamp), first-aid supplies, fire (matches or lighter and fire starters), a repair kit and tools (duct tape, knife, multi-tool and scissors), extra food, water and water treatment supplies, and emergency shelter (tent, space blanket, tarp or bivy). Our free checklist puts all ten on one page, with space to note which hike you picked.

Plan the day around the rest of New Year’s weekend

For what is open on Jan. 1, see what’s open on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day 2027. To time midnight the night before, there is the New Year’s countdown for every time zone, and the January 2027 dates list covers the weeks after. The calendar site has when is New Year’s Day and a January 2027 printable calendar.