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While some people spend the morning of New Year’s Day sleeping in after a big night, others bundle up and head out to start the new year with a brisk walk or hike.

That’s what members of the Little Falls Watershed Alliance had on their agenda as they gathered along the Little Falls Trail just off Massachusetts Avenue in Bethesda, Maryland.

“The mission of LFWA, as we call it, or the Little Falls Watershed Alliance, is to protect our local ecosystem,” John Drake, vice president of the Little Falls Watershed Alliance, told WTOP.

“Really, the sole purpose is to come out and enjoy what we have,” Drake said, as he gestured toward the Little Falls Creek, where a great blue heron waded in the water and pileated woodpeckers flitted in the trees above.

Jack Sobel, a member of the LFWA board, agreed that the purpose of the “first day hike” is “mostly to get out, enjoy the outdoors, start a new year fresh,” but that the outing serves as a reminder “about the creek, the watershed, what a great place it is to recreate and why it’s important to keep it healthy.”

Among the hikers in the group is Montgomery County Council member Evan Glass who told WTOP that on New Year’s Day, many people take the opportunity to get some clarity and “center ourselves, and there’s no better way to do that than on Montgomery County’s beautiful parks and trail system.”

The Little Falls Trail puts walkers on a path that leads down to the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal and the banks of the Potomac River.

First day hiker Leslie McKinney told WTOP, “I just like to muck around by the river. The Potomac is a great river. I grew up by rivers … and to get down there and be right on the ground and muck around is just so much fun!”