It's a beautiful fall day – perfect for a bike ride, a hike or a paddle. You grab your gear and head for the trail or the river, so as not to waste a moment of the Pioneer Valley at its most spectacular. But what if were physically or developmentally challenged? Or in a wheelchair? It would make an afternoon of outdoor activities a much more daunting experience.

That was on Elizabeth Dunaway-Smith's mind when she and Kristy Michalek got the idea for All Out Adventures. A 1992 graduate of Hampshire College, Elizabeth and her family were big into hiking, canoeing and such. And both Elizabeth and Kristy had both worked in the field of adaptive and inclusive recreation for a number of years through the Department of Conservation and Recreation's Universal Access Program. Through this experience, it became clear to them that there was a definite need for a private non-profit organization supporting and supplementing these adaptive programs in the western part of the state, so they created All Out Adventures.

Based in Easthampton and now in its third year, AOA offers a four-season slate of outdoor activities, including flat water and sea kayaking, canoeing, biking, hiking, camping, sailing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating and sledge skating, stargazing, picnics, and other community events. This summer, for example, AOA offered more than 57 programs in 16 locations, serving more than 500 participants of all abilities.

On an ongoing basis, they're also working on building networks of collaborations with community programs to promote and support inclusive recreation locally. One of those programs is Pathways to Participation, a community inclusion project for people with developmental disabilities. In keeping with the overall objective of AOA, the project's goal is to provide people with developmental disabilities with the skills and confidence necessary to participate in outdoor recreation independently and within their community.

In addition to their programming, AOA also offers disability awareness and adaptive recreation trainings to further encourage inclusion and break down some of the barriers and preconceived notions about people with disabilities.

Funded by grants from the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Program, the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation and the Paul and Vivian Olum Foundation, AOA (in collaboration with the Massachuetts Department of Conservation and Recreation) has just received a three-year $300,000 grant from the US Department of Education's Rehabilitative Services Administration to fund INSPIRE – Initiative for National and State Park Inclusive Recreation Expansion. INSPIRE will establish partnerships with community organizations and state parks from our bordering states to increase accessible programming in inclusive settings. In addition, this generous grant will also enable AOA to create 3-5 new state-wide programs.

Another recent success was the organization's first annual Downtown Northampton Criterium for Equal Access, an inclusive bike and handcycle race in downtown Northampton on the Fourth of July to benefit All Out Adventures and raise awareness of their mission. More than 300 racers came out for this exhilarating circuit race, and more than 1000 spectators came to lend their support. According to Elizabeth, "It was an amazing day and a wonderful feeling to see riders of all abilities racing the same course on the same day in front of the same crowd. We're looking forward to next year's race!"

But, as Elizabeth tells it, AOA has successes every day, "when someone realizes their ability and gets the opportunity to be outdoors in a safe, supportive setting. We're constantly learning how to better serve our community, and we are always trying to offer different opportunities and support to help take us all outdoors."

All Out Adventures has planned a number of inclusive recreation activities for this fall and winter, including: horseback riding in Belchertown, participating in the Connecticut River Source to Sea Cleanup (October 4th), a foliage paddle at Hampton Ponds State Park (October 5th), a bike tour on the Norwottuck Rail Trail (October 18th), rock climbing at Chapel Falls in Ashfield (October 26th), hiking at Mt. Tom (November 1st), orienteering at Northfield Mountain (November 15th), indoor sled skating in November and December, and snowshoeing on the solstice (December 20th), in conjunction with Arcadia in Easthampton.

To find out more about this amazing Pioneer Valley organization, including how to volunteer your time or help them with their "wish list" items, call them at 413-527-8980 or email program coordinator Megan Briggs at megan@alloutadventures.org.

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