Hiking season is not limited to dry summer weather or crisp fall afternoons - or even mild winter days ... or daylight hours for that matter.For information about the May 20 5K, visit newtownxc5k.eventbrite.com.The best way to sign up for NFA guided hikes is to become a member of the NFA. For details, visit newtownforestassociation.org/get-involved/become-a-member/.To become a member of Dr Coopersmith's Meetup group visit meetup.com/20s-30s-Outdoor-Club/

Whether under moonlight, in the snow, or on rough terrain, different types of hikes are organized frequently, year-round, by Dr Aaron Coopersmith, a vice president with Newtown Forest Association (NFA).

Some of the hikes are on NFA's Holcombe Hill Wildlife Preserve, and others are not associated with the NFA but put together through Dr Coopersmith's Meetup group. Dr Coopersmith, who has been an NFA board member since 2010, offers approximately two hikes each month through NFA and is developing interest in Meetup hikes.

"I don't think of this like volunteering. I like to do this," Dr Coopersmith said while leading a group of about a dozen hikers through the trails at Rocky Glen State Park Scenic Preserve on a recent February afternoon with soggy but not snowy ground conditions.

This hike was set up for individuals in their 20s and 30s. Dr Coopersmith, 33 and single, organized it after a suggestion from his friend, Cat Morgan, who recently came back to the area after living out in Arizona.

"I figured it would be a good thing to get this going and get people who like doing outdoorsy things together," Ms Morgan said.

"Newtown doesn't really have an epicenter of young single professionals. It's a beautiful place to raise a family. I'm losing friends left and right to this beautiful thing called procreation," Dr Coopersmith said lightheartedly. "This is an outlet for people to do something interactively enjoyable."

Dr Coopersmith notes that Newtown is among the communities with the most open space in the entire state and he loves to share what Newtown has to offer, providing some fun-filled history tidbits about the particular spot in which he is guiding a hike at the time. He welcomes suggestions, he said, for hikes and other recreation from his groups.

"You can embrace the natural beauties of the area. The lakes, the trails, the glacial erratic rocks," Dr Coopersmith said of getting out and moving along trails.

Born and raised in Newtown, Dr Coopersmith is in practice at Newtown Chiropractic Health Center. In the beginning of Dr Coopersmith's involvement with NFA, he built hiking trails.

"The logical and very exciting next step was to share those trails with everyone," he pointed out.

"On a personal level, I have always loved the outdoors. In my youth I was part of Landmark Volunteers working with the [Appalachian Mountain Club]. Later I worked directly with the AMC, building bog bridges to stone stairs. I have continued this passion assisting with Eagle Scout projects on NFA properties," he said.

Dr Coopersmith has been giving full moon hikes nearly every month for the last year or so. One of his recent moonlight hikes was during the Snow Moon, at Holcombe Hill off of Great Hill Road, on February 10. Appropriately, that hike was held with about a foot of snow on the ground. Coopersmith led a group of hikers, most of whom used snowshoes, to explore the land.

Hikers can find a number of options for exploring the area, all year around.

"Halloween is always very popular. These hikes are open to NFA members and non[members]. However, we are always looking for more support via members and donations," Dr Coopersmith said.

Among the day hikes offered is "Bubbles and Berries," which is an August hike on Nettleton property, home of hundreds of delicious wild edible berries, he said.

The NFA is a private land trust unaffiliated with taxpayers of Newtown, but is open to anybody who wishes to visit its properties. Dr Coopersmith notes that the NFA is in need of new members and volunteers.

Among the fundraisers hosted by Dr Coopersmith and NFA is the Newtown Forest Association-Newtown High School Cross Country 5K which benefits both NFA and Newtown High's boys' cross country program. The second annual race is slated for May 20.