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
The Palisades Trail Crew constructs new trails and rehabilitates eroded and damaged trails. This year, a major part of our work will involve completing the multi-use Munsee-Eagle Trail in Sterling Forest State Park.
Worktrip
You're invited to our Trail Magic Weekend July 20 through 22.
Get a little trail magic. Give a little trail magic. Work-for-stay and give back to the Trail you love.
Worktrip
The Palisades Trail Crew constructs new trails and rehabilitates eroded and damaged trails. This year, a major part of our work will involve completing the multi-use Munsee-Eagle Trail in Sterling Forest State Park.
Worktrip
The Palisades Trail Crew constructs new trails and rehabilitates eroded and damaged trails. This year, a major part of our work will involve completing the multi-use Munsee-Eagle Trail in Sterling Forest State Park.
Worktrip
Do you enjoy birds, butterflies, and wildflowers? Would you like to help protect them? Come help us remove invasive plants from this beautiful park!
Worktrip
Interested in learning about trail opportunities in Essex County? Join us!
Worktrip
The Palisades Trail Crew constructs new trails and rehabilitates eroded and damaged trails. This year, a major part of our work will involve completing the multi-use Munsee-Eagle Trail in Sterling Forest State Park.
Worktrip
The Palisades Trail Crew constructs new trails and rehabilitates eroded and damaged trails. This year, a major part of our work will involve completing the multi-use Munsee-Eagle Trail in Sterling Forest State Park.
Worktrip
The Palisades Trail Crew constructs new trails and rehabilitates eroded and damaged trails. This year, a major part of our work will involve completing the multi-use Munsee-Eagle Trail in Sterling Forest State Park.
Worktrip
Join the East Hudson Trail Crew in improving the Fishkill Ridge Trail in Hudson Highlands State Park!
Worktrip
Do you enjoy birds, butterflies, and wildflowers? Would you like to help protect them? Come help us remove invasive plants from this beautiful park!
Worktrip
It's the summer of Trail Love at Breakneck Ridge!
Worktrip
It's the summer of Trail Love in Ramapo Reservation!
Worktrip
It's the summer of Trail Love in Sterling Forest!
Worktrip
The Palisades Trail Crew constructs new trails and rehabilitates eroded and damaged trails. This year, a major part of our work will involve completing the multi-use Munsee-Eagle Trail in Sterling Forest State Park.
Worktrip
Come help us care for the native plant landscaping at the Trail Conference headquarters! Sign up here.
Worktrip
Join the Mahwah Environmental Volunteers Organization, Inc. (MEVO) crew as they partner with the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference to build and maintain sustainable trails!
Worktrip
The Palisades Trail Crew constructs new trails and rehabilitates eroded and damaged trails. This year, a major part of our work will involve completing the multi-use Munsee-Eagle Trail in Sterling Forest State Park.
Worktrip
The Palisades Trail Crew constructs new trails and rehabilitates eroded and damaged trails. This year, a major part of our work will involve completing the multi-use Munsee-Eagle Trail in Sterling Forest State Park.
Worktrip
The Palisades Trail Crew constructs new trails and rehabilitates eroded and damaged trails. This year, a major part of our work will involve completing the multi-use Munsee-Eagle Trail in Sterling Forest State Park.
Workshop
Take this workshop to find out how you can prevent native ash trees from being wiped out by Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), an extremely destructive invasive insect.
Workshop
Are you ready to take your hunt for invasive plants on the road? Want to join our invasive plant scavenger hunt? Take this workshop to learn how to search out problem invasive species wherever they hide!
Workshop
Ever notice the structures on a trail such as bridges, stairs, walls, or stepping stones? Ever wonder how or why they are there?
Take this workshop to find out about Sidehilling - how and why it is utilized in certain trail systems.
Workshop
Ever notice the structures on a trail such as bridges, stairs, walls, or stepping stones? Ever wonder how or why they are there? Take this workshop to find out how to construct and install stone steps on a trail!
Workshop
Would you like to take your invasive plant identification skills to the next level? Do you want to help find the next problem invaders that our crew should be targeting? Take this workshop to learn how!
Workshop
Wilderness First Aid course offered at the Welch Trail Education Center. Course fee required; overnight accommodations are available at no extra charge.
Workshop
The Trail Conference invites women to join us for a female-focused introduction to trail building at Ramapo Valley County Reservation.
Workshop
Trail Maintenance on the Long Path on the Shawangunk Ridge
Workshop
Ever wonder how the trails you use and love are built and maintained? Take this workshop to find out! Get a behind-the-scenes, hands-on experience and learn the basics of trail building!
Workshop
Ever wonder how the trails you use and love are built and maintained? Take this workshop to find out! Get a behind-the-scenes, hands-on experience and learn the basics of trail building!
Workshop
Ever wonder how the trails you use and love are built and maintained? Take this workshop to find out! Get a behind-the-scenes, hands-on experience and learn the basics of trail building!
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.