Hike Safe, starting with a First Day Hike

December 26, 2024 / Ellen Kolb

Two New Hampshire traditions dovetail nicely this time of year. New Hampshire’s Division of Parks and Recreation is once again sponsoring First Day Hikes on New Year’s Day 2025 at several state parks, and Hike Safe cards for 2025 are now available for purchase on the New Hampshire Fish and Game website. I recommend both.

First Day Hikes

2025’s First Day Hikes are being offered at seven state parks. These are self-guided events, although park staff will be participating in some locations. Events range from cross-country skiing at Milan Hill State Park to a shoreline walk at Odiorne Point in Rye. Advance registration is required. You’ll find more information at the State Parks website. At this writing, two out of the seven events are already full, with no more registrations available, so act fast if you’d like to spend a few hours on New Year’s Day at Odiorne Point, Milan Hill, Mount Monadnock, Pisgah State Park, or White Lake State Park.

At a First Day Hike a few years back, I scored a fleece scarf that I’ve sported nearly every New Year’s Day since. I like starting the year with a flourish.

Hike Safe Card

New Hampshire Fish and Game sells the Hike Safe card, which is actually an online registration, rather than a card to be carried. Every purchase – $25 for an individual or $35 for a family – supports search and rescue efforts that could be required for anyone participating in an outdoor sport or activity in New Hampshire. In most circumstances, people who obtain the cards are not liable to repay rescue costs if they need to be rescued, although that won’t apply in cases of reckless behavior. Read more about the Hike Safe card at the Fish and Game website.

If you purchase one on the F&G website for 2025 before January 1, be sure you click the button for the correct year. You don’t want to pay for 2024 by accident. No refunds.

When it comes to outdoor recreation in New Hampshire, many recreationists pay their way, so to speak, via licenses or vehicle registrations. Hunters, anglers, boaters, snowmobilers, and OHRV operators contribute to trail maintenance and rescue costs that way. Hikers like me don’t need a license, but we can do our bit by getting that Hike Safe card every year.

Hike Safe card: not just for mountain hikers

December 26, 2022 / Ellen Kolb / 1 Comment

For my New Hampshire readers, here’s a plea from me: if you haven’t purchased a Hike Safe card for 2023, please do so now. Even if you’re sure you’ll never need to be rescued, buy one anyway. It will be a small way of supporting the state’s Search and Rescue fund. Sadly, demands on the fund never let up.

TL;DR: Take out a credit card, go online to the New Hampshire Fish and Game’s Hike Safe page, and plunk down $25 for a virtual card covering an individual, $35 for a family. If a Hike Safe cardholder needs to be rescued in the course of an outdoor activity, she or he will not in most cases be assessed for the cost of the rescue. Just get the card. Don’t wait.

I write this as I hear news about a hiker who perished upstate while attempting a solo hike on a mountain ridge in winter weather. A few weeks ago, another hiker lost her life in the same area. Rescue attempts, which became recovery missions, involved professional conservation officers from New Hampshire Fish and Game plus many volunteers.

Those same volunteers and first responders would come out even if the trail were less challenging. They don’t write off any of us. Missing hikers, once reported overdue by family or friends, spark a search-and-rescue mission.

I know from experience that hikes can go awry even in good weather on heavily-traveled trails. (A particularly embarrassing day on Monadnock comes to mind.) While I haven’t yet inspired any rescue missions, I’m uncomfortably aware that this could change anytime. I carry simple essentials even for short hikes, but even so, bad stuff happens now and then.

Ninety percent of my trail miles are on flat trails within an hour of my home. I buy a Hike Safe card every year anyway. It’s cheap insurance against being assessed some hefty costs arising from my own negligence. More importantly, the card lets me as a hiker contribute to the readiness of search-and-rescue teams.

Hunters, anglers, and anyone registering a boat, OHRV, or snowmobile already contribute to the Search and Rescue fund as part of their license and registration fees. Hikers don’t need a license. We can pull our weight, so to speak, by purchasing the Hike Safe card.

Hike safe card: yes, I’m in

December 29, 2014 / Ellen Kolb

New Hampshire Fish & Game is selling a Hike Safe card beginning on New Year’s Day, in an effort to boost the search-and-rescue fund. Given the amount of time I spend on trails, and with my boneheaded decisions from a day on Monadnock more than a year ago still fresh in my memory, I’m going to plunk down the $25. Hunters and boaters have helped fund Fish and Game’s rescue work for years by means of a surcharge on their annual licenses. It’s about time hikers like me got into the act.

Hikers with a Hike Safe card will not be responsible for repaying any rescue costs incurred due to the hiker’s negligence. Reckless or intentional behavior is not covered. In other words, Don’t Be Stupid.

FAQs about the program are answered on the Fish and Game web site. The card is available for online purchase only.