Father-son team maps 100+ wheelchair-accessible trails on the Olympic Peninsula

Glenn Chipman, a DDAC member, presented a public-access resource he and his son Tanner developed that catalogs more than 100 wheelchair-accessible trail segments across the Olympic Peninsula. "We've now rolled 122 trails," Chipman said during his presentation, describing the guide's map points, surface-type legend and photos. The map shows whether a site has toilets, the managing agency and a web link to the responsible land manager. Chipman said the project grew from his background in cartography and from the family's efforts to find outdoor options after Tanner, who has autism and Down syndrome, aged out of school services. He described the team's criteria for inclusion: each mapped point must be a public site and allow at least a half-mile of rolling (a minimum quarter-mile out-and-back to reach the half-mile threshold); private lands are excluded unless public access is clearly posted. Chipman said the guide identifies surface types (paved, mixed, dirt/gravel) so families can judge suitability for specific chairs. He also described active outreach: the pair post on the Friends of the Olympic National Park page and have communicated with park and state-park contacts about trail maintenance; Chipman said he reaches out to park maintenance crews when he encounters downed trees or obstacles. County Commissioner Mike French and other attendees asked whether mapped points were grouped by accessibility. Chipman explained the color-coded legend corresponds to surface and pavement type so users can quickly estimate which sites match their mobility needs. Chipman said he will share the blog link with county staff for distribution to providers and families.