Fall Timeless Trails Update: Cotoni-Coast Dairies Dig Day, New Stewardship Programming, and a Big Basin Recap

We’ve wrapped up more thanfour miles of trail out at Cotoni-Coast Dairies, and are excited to get to work on the third and final loop of the northern network.

The crew is currently building the first nine miles of trail on the north side of the CCD property just above Davenport, a portion of which will open in the months ahead. Since we last checked in, our team’s wrapped on some major bridge construction and begun to narrow in the final flagging for the third and final loop of trail on this side of the property. All that’s left is to raise the final funds to support trail construction, then dig on in!

We’re proud to have volunteers supporting the SCMTS Trail Crew in trail construction efforts. We recently hosted a Dig Day out on the property, and hosted 45 volunteers for a fun day out on the trails. Altogether, volunteers completed 270 hours of trail polishing and rock work on the lower portion of the property. Check out our full recap with photos from the day by clicking the button below.

Our volunteer trail work events have a new host! We’d like to formally introduce everyone to Mati Benzoni, our new Trail Stewardship Coordinator. We’re thrilled to have Mati on the Programs team here at SCMTS. She’s a skilled educator and talented trail technician. Meet her at one of our upcoming events–our calendar’s got lots of volunteer opportunities available.

One of our most precious outdoor destinations, Soquel Demonstration State Forest has finally reopened! The forest has remained closed since January’s historic storms. Power lines fell throughout the area, roads washed away, and trails were absolutely thrashed after weeks of heavy rain and wind. But we’re finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s all thanks to the hard work our volunteers, supporters, and of course, CAL FIRE’s amazing forestry team.

This spring, donors contributed nearly $200,000 to support SDSF trails through our Ibis bike sweepstakes. Our staff and volunteers put those funds to work, and completed over 700 hours into trail restoration at 35 events. After over nine months of closure, trails are finally ready to reopen!

Meet our newest program: Hike & Help! Hike & Help events happen for two hours on Thursday mornings, and rotate throughout parks in Santa Cruz County. They’re a combination of a social hike and some light trail work–perfect for trail work beginners or hikers who are looking to up their stewardship game.

Our Programs team has been working hard on a revamped Trail Academy schedule, and we’re nearly ready to share it with the world! This newly-renovated program includes more in-depth trainings–always free to attend–both in the field and online. We’re planning to roll out a November-to-March class series that will take folks from trail newbies to SCMTS-certified Trail Crew Leader in just four months. Stay tuned for more on that front in the coming weeks!

We’re elated to announce that our organization’s fire relief work was recently recognized by the California State Parks Commission with a 2023 Golden Bear Award. Golden Bear Awards are given once a year, and recognize California State Parks partners and volunteers that make a significant contribution to local open spaces.

We received this award for our post-CZU fire recovery efforts in Fall Creek Unit of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. In 2020, we raised over $200,000 for trail work in the burn scar, and spent hundreds of hours in the field supporting the California State Parks staff with trail repair and cleanup so that Fall Creek could open faster. Our SCMTS Trail Crew also made significant improvements to trail tread and to equestrian access within the park so that more users can enjoy a wider portion of Fall Creek’s magical landscape.

Our Executive Director, Matt De Young, recently attended a California State Parks Commission meeting to accept our award in person. We’re honored to be a “Golden Bear” partner!

Our professional SCMTS Trail Crew has been out in the Big Basin backcountry since mid-June, and we’re excited to share that their work is finally wrapped up in the forest!

This is the first in reopening backcountry trails. The Big Basin backcountry is still a hazard site–it’s a moonscape of charred trees, fallen branches, and overgrown brush. Our Trail Crew just completed essential fuels management work to clear a fire break in preparation for a prescribed burn in the historic park.

The team navigated blistering temperatures and excruciating physical demands as they cleared brush, removed snags, and navigated the uncertain terrain of the backcountry. We sent one of our office staff out to tail them for a day… check out his report back here.

In total, the Crew cleared over 210,000 square feet of trail corridor, and removed nearly 900 hazards in the process. We’re incredibly proud of the teamwork that they put into this project, and are excited for the next phase of their Big Basin journey to begin.

Up next: California State Parks will conduct a prescribed burn in the area that the Crew just cleared. Once that’s complete, we’ll begin trail restoration work to repair tread and improve user experience. Our team’s work in Big Basin expedites the reopening of these iconic trails. We hope we can get you back out into the backcountry soon!