Yes! Adventure seekers who aren’t afraid to get dirty can share their love of trails by giving back either as an individual or a group. Our trail crews, Trail Love Days, and special trail projects are great for a group of friends or a corporate outing. Email [email protected] for details.
Volunteer Opportunities
Outside or inside, close to home or at your go-to weekend trail destination, we aim to connect you with the volunteer opportunity that is right for you. Tell us how you'd like to be involved!
Grab your work gloves and spend a few hours or a whole day with a crew helping to make a difference in our parks. Or, we can match your group to the right project.
We teach stewardship skills to outdoor-loving people. Our classes range from intro level in basic trail maintenance and invasive species identification to advanced training in trail layout and design, rock work, and more.
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Worktrip
Whether you're an experienced maintainer or new on the trails, join us in ensuring that the trails stay clear and passable for the enjoyment of all trail lovers!
Workshop
Do you manage a natural area? Do you need to know more about how to identify and manage invasive species? Take this workshop and receive pesticide applicator credits as well.
Workshop
Join us for a jam-packed info session on Breakneck Ridge, the iconic hiking destination just north of NYC.
Workshop
Whether you're an experienced maintainer or new on the trails, join us in ensuring that the trails stay clear and passable for the enjoyment of all trail lovers!
Workshop
Do you manage a natural area? Do you need to know more about how to identify and manage invasive species? Take this workshop and receive pesticide applicator credits as well.
Workshop
Ever wonder how the trails stay open and passable? Where do those colored marks on the trees come from? Join us on "I Love My Parks Day" to take this workshop to find out about trail maintenance!
Workshop
Join us for a jam-packed info session on Breakneck Ridge, the iconic hiking destination just north of NYC.
Workshop
Join us for a jam-packed info session on Breakneck Ridge, the iconic hiking destination just north of NYC.
Our Volunteers Rock
Building, Maintaining, and Protecting Trails
The Trail Conference is supported by more than 1,700 volunteers who annually donate over 93,000 hours of time to keep trails open, safe, and enjoyable for the public.
Our volunteers are hard at work in the field...
- Building new trails and rehabilitating old ones
- Keeping trails accessible for fellow users
- Monitoring and removing invasive species
... and off-trail
- Protecting trail lands through advocacy, conservation, and stewardship efforts
- Using their professional skills to help support our mission
Outside or inside, close to home or at your go-to weekend trail destination, we aim to connect you with the volunteer opportunity that is right for you. Tell us how you'd like to be involved!
Adopt A Trail
There's trail out there that needs you! Volunteers who "adopt" a trail do the on-the-ground work to ensure it remains open and safe for fellow users.
Get Out With Us
We're a community of volunteers who build and maintain hiking trails. Grab your workgloves and spent a day on a trail crew. Or, we can match your group to the right trail project.
Trail U
We build trails and teach on-trails skill to our volunteers. Our classes range from Intro level in basic trail maintenance to advanced training in trail layout & design, rock work, and more. Workshops are usually held in the field on real trail projects.
Workshops
FAQs
Minimum Volunteer Age
There is no minimum volunteer age to volunteer with the Trail Conference, however not all volunteer opportunities are appropriate for younger children. All volunteers under 18 must be accompanied by a signed parental permission slip or a parent. We obey the two-adult rule: adult leaders must have prior background checks and that no child is ever with only one adult. Because of this rule, some work trips may not be able to accommodate youth volunteers.
Yes! Take a look at our Find a Volunteer Opportunity map to see which trails we’re improving on which dates and how you can help.
Nope. If you don’t want to volunteer outside, the Trail Conference has many important and meaningful opportunities that can be done from our headquarters at the Darlington Schoolhouse or even from your own home.
Our trail crews and event leaders will provide you with everything you need for a great day on the trails—from gloves, hardhats, and eye protection, to shovels and pick mattocks. For those who want to adopt a trail to protect it for others to enjoy, you will be responsible for purchasing a few small hand tools to get the job done right.
Membership dues helps support our ability to keep trails and trail lands protected. Without support from trail users, we would not be able to do all of the great work that our trails need. While membership is not required for many of our volunteer opportunities, it is greatly appreciated. Please see Become a Member for details.
To ensure that you have an amazing volunteer experience, we offer both formal workshops that include classroom and field components, as well as “on the job training” opportunities. Our award-winning Trail University courses, taught by our awesome trail professionals and volunteers, will give you all the skills you need to help improve trails.
The Trail Conference encourages youth to participate on trail projects and we often work with Scout groups. It is the scout’s responsibility to identify and perform the preliminary planning for a project. To help offset some of the costs, the Elizabeth Levers Memorial Grant is available to support youth projects on trails maintained by the Trail Conference. The best way to start is to contact the Regional Program Coordinator for your area. See About Us for staff directory.
Trail Maintainers adopt one or more sections of a trail checking periodically, clearing debris, checking blazes, and generally ensuring that the sections are accessible.