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Jane Daniels, of Mohegan Lake, a well known leader in the local, regional, and state trails community for at least three decades, received the highest volunteer award given by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. The Raymond H. Torrey Award, named for a founder of the Trail Conference, was presented to Daniels on Oct. 15 in Ossining.
Daniels has served on the Trail Conference board of directors for more than 20 years, including six as board chair. She is co-author with her husband, Walter, of , a best-selling guide to hundreds of miles of trails in Westchester County that has led countless residents and visitors to discover trails in the county.
There are more than 600 miles of trails winding around the parks, preserves, and sanctuaries in Westchester County. includes the North County Trailway, which passes through Yorktown, and the Teatown Lake Reservation. "Walkable Westchester: A Walking Guide to Westchester County" includes 180 parks and 600 miles of trails to visit. The book also has detailed maps, the parks’ history, associated individuals and permitted activities.
The woman represents hikers on the New York State Trails Council and serves on the board of the Hudson Valley Greenway Council. She is supervising the building of a new community trails network in Yorktown, where she lives, working with town officials, mountain bike groups, Trail Conference volunteers and others to create this new community resource. Daniels fosters such collaborative trail work between hikers and other user groups throughout the state and the region.
She has also worked to recruit, encourage, mentor, and reward the ever-growing cadre of Trail Conference volunteers. The Trail Conference fields more than 1,200 active volunteers who maintain more than 1,800 miles of trails in the New York-New Jersey region and produce trail maps and books used by hikers and others.
The award presented to Daniels by the Trail Conference honors her contributions to these achievements.
The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference partners with parks and organizes volunteers to create, protect, and promote more than 1,800 miles of public trails.
