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.
Come help us care for the native plant landscape at the Trail Conference headquarters! Sign up here.
Boardwalk re-decking, Pochuck Boardwalk on the Appalachian Trail
Do you enjoy birds, butterflies, and wildflowers? Would you like to help protect them? Come help us remove invasive plants from this beautiful park!
Do you enjoy birds, butterflies, and wildflowers? Would you like to help protect them? Come help us remove invasive plants from this beautiful park!
Install step-stones through a wet area
Boardwalk re-decking, Pochuck Boardwalk on the Appalachian Trail
Install puncheon through a wet area
Boardwalk re-decking, Pochuck Boardwalk on the Appalachian Trail
Boardwalk re-decking, Pochuck Boardwalk on the Appalachian Trail
Boardwalk re-decking, Pochuck Boardwalk on the Appalachian Trail
Join this workshop hosted by the Palisades Trail Crew to learn all about how to use simple hand tools to construct sustainable trail tread, and keep it in good shape for the long haul!
Join this workshop hosted by the Taconic Trail Crew to learn hands-on all about how we can "give back to nature" by properly de-commissioning and re-naturalizing undesirable trail segments.
Have you noticed the stone structures on a trail such as stairs, walls, or stepping stones? Ever wonder how or why they are there? Take this workshop to find out!
Ever wonder why we place and build trails where they are, why it twists and turns, or why it is not the most direct route? Join Senior Trail Builder Ben Sugar for this part classroom, part field-based workshop to learn about designing and laying out routes for sustainable trails.
Ever wonder why we place and build trails where they are, why it twists and turns, or why it is not the most direct route? Join Senior Trail Builder Ben Sugar for this part classroom, part field-based workshop to learn about designing and laying out routes for sustainable trails.
Our Volunteers Rock
Building, Maintaining, and Protecting Trails
The Trail Conference is supported by thousands of volunteers who annually donate over 90,000 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!