The Thames Valley Trail Association wants to give you the boot today.

Association members are staging a six-hour event at London Central Library that could be titled Everything You Wanted to Know About Hiking -- And More. With spring here, and the library providing free space, the association has organized presentations for novice and experienced hikers.

"It's an attempt to encourage people to leave their cars in the garage, get off the sofa and use up some shoe leather," said Tom Friesen, association president. "Hiking is a low-impact sport, good for you physically and friendly to the environment."

That can range from a 50-minute walk through Springbank Park or a walking tour of Spain for a month, he said.

"We're trying to give you a feel for a very wide range of activity that could be labelled as hiking."

Topics include proper foot wear and equipment, the location of local trails, hiking elsewhere in Canada and abroad, nature walks and outdoor photography.

Veteran hikers will make the presentations and be on hand to answer questions, said Friesen.

The Thames Valley Trail Association has about 360 members, he said, adding the most active do much more than hiking.

They're involved in trail development, trail maintenance, building new foot bridges and boardwalks and making others aware of hiking holidays.

This year, for example, hikers can sign on for tours to Iceland, the Saguenay Fjord in Quebec, Tuscany, Turkey and Cuba.

Last year, about 60 volunteers made 15 trail maintenance trips, averaging about four volunteers per expedition.

Association members are also working toward the creation of neighbourhood hikes in London and Middlesex and a "made in Ontario" pilgrimage that would connect the Elgin, Thames Valley, Maitland, Grand and Bruce trail systems.

The hiking community is also interested in raising public awareness of the need to reduce consumption of carbon fuels to combat climate change.

IF YOU GO

What: Hikers Day, Take a Walk on the Wild Side, six hours of presentations about hiking.

Where: Stevenson & Hunt Room, Tonda Room, Wolf Hall, London Central Library, 251 Dundas St.

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., today.

Sponsors: Thames Valley, Maitland and Elgin trail associations, London Public Library, Novack's.