Our Roadmap to Timeless Trails
Our Timeless Trails campaign is the best way to support our organization as we work to build brand new trails and restore beloved outdoor access in the Santa Cruz Mountains. This mega-campaign is broken down into three segments - Cotoni-Coast Dairies trail development, fire relief with California State Parks, and ongoing trail stewardship.
Clearly, we’ve got a whole lot of trail goodness planned for the years ahead. But, how and when are we tackling each of our campaign initiatives?
Cotoni-Coast Dairies Trail Development
The largest fund within Timeless Trails supports new trail development at Cotoni-Coast Dairies Unit of the California Coastal National Monument. In conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management and passionate community volunteers, the SCMTS Trail Crew is building 19 miles of brand-new trail out on this breathtaking coastal property.
Why this matters:
These trails will utilize best practices in sustainable trail development to work with Cotoni-Coast Dairies’ unique landscape and deliver stellar outdoor fun to users of all skill levels and abilities (yes, ADA access, too!).
Public access at Cotoni-Coast Dairies is 20 years in the making. We’re honored to carry this project across the finish line as we build trails that will unlock this never-before-accessed 6,000-square-foot landscape.
Timeline:
The first nine miles of trail are anticipated to be available to the public near the end of 2022. Following completion of the 19 miles of Phase 1 trails, the SCMTS Trail Crew will begin construction of Phase 2 trail access (details to come).
Fire Relief with California State Parks
A portion of funds donated to Timeless Trails will also be used for fire relief efforts in beloved California State Parks like Big Basin, Fall Creek, Año Nuevo, and Butano.
These parks were charred during the CZU Lightning Fire Complex of 2020, and our team is helping to expedite their reopening by providing boots-on-the-ground support to CA State Parks field staff. We started this post-wildfire support work in Fall Creek Unit of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in 2020, and boy, is there a whole lot more recovery work ahead of us. Following Fall Creek, we’ll set our sights on Big Basin and tackle trail restoration in California’s oldest state park.
Why this matters:
Many CA state parks have been closed since the CZU wildfire of 2020. Our fire relief work will expedite park reopening to restore public access to these popular outdoor destinations.
Big Basin is going through a complete reimagining process, and we’ll support the redesign and reconstruction of this historic park.
Timeline:
This fire relief work is ongoing. Our team is tackling Fall Creek trails first, and following Big Basin’s planning effort, we’ll get out on the trails there next. The goal is to open access to the central portion of Big Basin by summer of 2022.
Stewardship
Stewardship supports professional trail maintenance, trail improvements at Wilder Ranch State Park, and our ongoing work building a committed corps of trail staff and volunteers.
In addition to world-class professional trail maintenance and restoration, the stewardship fund allows us to continue to host our popular trail programs, including:
Dig Days: large-scale, fully-supported volunteer trail work days.
Trail Academy: free classes that teach attendees all aspects of trail building.
Volunteer trail work: weekly small-group trail maintenance events at local parks.
Trail Crew Leader training: special training for superstar volunteers who would like to lead groups of volunteers at Dig Days.
Trail Sages: expert volunteers who lead independent volunteer trail work events
Timeline:
By nature, our stewardship of local trails is ongoing. We provide both proactive and reactive trail maintenance support so that popular trails remain in stellar condition all year long. Our volunteer events are hosted year-round, and through Timeless Trails, we have plans to double the number of Dig Days, our premier volunteer trail work events.
Like what we have planned?
Great! Consider making a contribution to Timeless Trails to support all of these initiatives so we can preserve and expand great outdoor access for decades to come. You can make a big difference on access to and appreciation for the Santa Cruz Mountains by donating to Timeless Trails.
