Supervised Volunteer Trails Program

ADK strives to provide all of our volunteers with a positive and rewarding experience while giving back to trails. The supervised volunteer program has been in effect since 1986 and has paralleled the professional trail crews in adopting sound techniques and methods of trail maintenance. Volunteer projects are inherently educational; allowing participants to not only learn the skills associated with trail work, but also the natural history of the area and Leave-No-Trace backcountry ethics. Volunteer trail work is truly at the heart of ADK since the “Trails and Shelters” committee was established in 1923. Over the years, ADK’s role in trails has changed from the building of trails to making current trails sustainable through sound layout and long lasting trail structures. ADK Trail Volunteers get a great deal of satisfaction having contributed to a high-quality trail project, and also an opportunity to meet some great folks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

           
    Elderhostel crew working on the Gull Pond             Finished turnpike on Gull Pond Trail
     Trail in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness

Here are some trail work accomplishments from the Supervised Volunteer 2006 season:

  • Over 250 volunteers participated
  • 22 rock steps installed
  • 5,600 square feet of wood turnpike
  • 169 blow down removed (does not include trail stewards’ adopted trails)
  • 465 feet of new ditches

 

Here are accounts of students who participated in high school St. Regis Mt. or the rock box trail projects and also the Long Lake trail volunteer project.

To view the full volunteer trail schedule and registration form,

click here. 

Interested in working as a paid volunteer trail crew leader? click here for job posting or click here for an application.

To learn more about other stewardship opportunities click here

                                                                         High school project on St. Regis Mountain 2006

 

Some highlights for the 2007 season:

-Expanded one and two-day projects.  In addition to the traditional JBL work weekend and Ruth’s Easy Project, we have added five more shorter duration projects.  There is even a Mountain Bike Trail project.

-Expanded High School age projects.  These have been some of our most successful trips, so we’ve naturally provided more options.   

High school volunteers working on the Marge Tierney
Universal Access Trail located at the Heart Lake Program Center

-Our Special Events this year are going to be a blast. Saturday, June 7, is National Trails Day, and for the first time, ADK will be marking the day with volunteer trail projects in the Catskills. Click here to find out how you can be part of this groundbreaking event.

Some of the volunteers who participated in the 2006 Johns Brook Valley
trail work weekend

The following sponsors make the ADK Supervised Volunteer program possible: ADK Chapters – Cold River, Genesee, Laurentian, Niagara Frontier, Saratoga-Glens, Schenectady