A Letter from Our Executive Director
As I sit down to write this year’s letter, I am reminded that 2022 marks our twenty-fifth year out on the trails. Together, we sure have done a lot.
Many community organizations don’t last for twenty five years, let alone continually set new records for trail construction and volunteerism year over year. You’ve made this possible. Over the past 25 years, our community has grown from a couple dozen passionate mountain bikers to thousands of trail users with a shared vision for recreation in the Santa Cruz Mountains: accessible, sustainable, and fun for everyone.
Thank you for joining us as we build an outdoor future we can all be proud of. We’ve created so many incredible opportunities for new outdoor experiences that will give so many health, strength, friendship, and a deeper appreciation and sense of responsibility for stewarding our planet. I’m extremely excited for what we’ll accomplish together in the years to come.
That’s why this holiday season, we’re grateful for supporters like you. Because of your support, 2022 was a transformative year for trail access in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Just in the past year, we built and opened more new trail than ever before. We constructed over nine miles of trail at Laguna Creek and San Vicente Redwoods for the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, all of which are now open to the public. We have four more miles of trail at Cotoni-Coast Dairies set to open in the year ahead. We also set new records for volunteering with over 1,860 of you coming out to put over 10,000 hours of work into the field. Membership took off, and 430 new members joined our community as monthly supporters of local trails. If you made a donation, put in some sweat equity at a volunteer event, or simply told a friend about the work we do: thank you. You made this possible.
In 2023, we’ll keep our momentum high and break ground on even more once-in-a-lifetime trail projects. We’ll build an additional fifteen miles of trails at Cotoni-Coast Dairies, begin vital trail restoration work in the backcountry of Big Basin Redwoods State Park, and create volunteer experiences that introduce even more community members to the magic of trail stewardship. Our Timeless Trails campaign supports all of these projects, and we hope we can count on your help as we head into the new year.
Will you make a contribution to support trail stewardship this holiday season? Your gift will create a lifetime of adventure out on the trails. Every dollar makes a difference, and will help us create an everlasting impact on recreation in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Thanks in advance for the support. I hope to see you out on the trails sometime soon!
Best regards,
Matt De Young
Executive Director, Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship
