Sign up for a volunteer vacation in 2026

April 22–26 · Frontcountry Trail Project

Trip Leader: Jacob Shinners

FRONTCOUNTRY · UP TO 5 DAYS (CAR CAMPING)

We welcome you to join us for any or all of this frontcountry trail project in Trinity County, just south of Hayfork, where we’ll be working on the Tule Creek Trail. This is a great opportunity to contribute to hands-on stewardship while camping close to vehicles.

A group campground will be reserved for the duration of the project, and we’ll drive a short distance to the trail each day for work sessions. The setting offers a balance of accessibility, forested surroundings, and meaningful trail improvement.

Bigfoot Trail Alliance will provide all breakfasts and dinners, allowing volunteers to focus on the work, shared meals, and evenings around camp.

Important note: Daily work will involve moderate hiking with tools and day packs in variable spring conditions. Participants should be comfortable spending full days outdoors and contributing to physical trail work.

May 13–17 · Frontcountry Trail Project

Trip Leader: Jacob Shinners

FRONTCOUNTRY · UP TO 4 DAYS (CAR CAMPING)

Join us for any or all of this frontcountry trail project in Trinity County, just south of Hayfork, where we’ll be working on trails in the Yolla Bolly–Middle Eel Wilderness. This trip offers a flexible way to contribute meaningful stewardship while camping close to vehicles.

Our work location will be based at either West Low Gap or Stuarts Gap, depending on snow levels and seasonal conditions. From camp, we’ll head out daily to improve trails that connect people to this rugged and forested landscape.

Bigfoot Trail Alliance will provide all breakfasts and dinners, creating space in the evenings for shared meals, conversation, and rest after a day of hands-on work.

Important note: While this is a car-camping trip, daily trail work may involve moderate hiking with tools and day packs. Participants should be comfortable spending full days outdoors in variable spring conditions.

June 6–13 · Backcountry Trail Project

Trip Leader: Petr Fleischmann

BACKCOUNTRY · 7 DAYS

This seven-day backcountry project begins at a remote trailhead north of Covelo, California, with support from the Mendocino National Forest. Volunteers are invited into the living heart of the Yolla Bolly–Middle Eel Wilderness, a landscape shaped by steep canyons, big forests, and deep silence.

Participants will be packed by horse from Green Springs Trailhead to a wilderness camp approximately three miles in, where food and essential camp supplies are provided. From this base, we’ll spend our days caring for trails that thread through mature forests and connect people to this remote corner of Northern California.

All meals are included throughout the week, along with the shared rhythm of hard work, learning, and camaraderie. Evenings offer time to rest, reflect, and experience the quiet wonder that only long days in the wilderness can bring.

Important note: Daily trail work will require carrying a backpack into the wilderness along with tools to and from the job site. Participants should be comfortable hiking with weight over uneven terrain and spending full days engaged in physical outdoor work.

July 3–10 · Backcountry Trail Project

Trip Leader: Jacob Shinners
Group Size: Limited to 10 participants

BACKCOUNTRY · 7 DAYS

This backcountry project will focus on trail work along the North Fork of the Salmon River, moving toward Big Meadows and Wild Lake, with additional work on nearby trails that weave through an impressive forest of large, old trees.

Towering conifers shade the trail corridor, while clear mountain lakes and open meadows sit just beyond the forest edge—reminders of the long ecological stories written into this landscape by fire, water, and time.

With pack support from the Klamath National Forest up the Salmon River, we’ll reach remote sections of trail where stewardship directly protects access to lakes, forests, and backcountry camps seldom reached by modern crews.

Important note: This trip includes an approximately 11-mile hike to our base camp at Upper Abbots on the North Fork of the Salmon River. Participants should be physically fit and prepared to carry a full pack this distance in a single day.

July 3–10 · Backcountry Trail Project

Trip Leader: Petr Fleischmann
Group Size: Limited to 10 participants

BACKCOUNTRY · 7 DAYS

This immersive backcountry trip will focus on trail work along the Little North Fork of the Salmon River, traveling to set camp approximately 3.5 miles in at Hamilton Camp. Our work will improve access to remote lakes and high-country destinations in this seldom-visited corner of the wilderness.

With pack support provided by the Klamath National Forest, we’ll be able to reach and work in truly remote terrain—an area defined by steep forested slopes, clear water, and a deep sense of wildness.

This is a spectacular and rarely seen landscape, where trail stewardship becomes a way of listening to the land and helping keep these pathways open for future generations.

Important note: Although pack support is provided for camp supplies, participants should expect to carry a personal backpack and trail tools to and from daily work sites. Comfort hiking with weight over uneven terrain is essential.

August 20–23 · Backcountry Trail Project

Trip Leader: Jacob Shinners

BACKCOUNTRY · 4 DAYS

This four-day backcountry project will focus on trail work along the Bear Creek Trail. We’ll establish camp near Stuarts Fork and hike up the trail each day to reach our work sites, returning to camp in the evenings.

The setting offers clear water, shaded forests, and opportunities to cool off with a swim after a day of work. Backpacking dinners will be provided, allowing participants to focus on the work and the experience of being immersed in the landscape.

Important note: This is a self-supported backcountry trip. Participants must be prepared to carry all personal gear, along with trail tools (including a pair of loppers), and hike daily to and from the job site. Comfort backpacking with weight over rugged terrain is essential.

September 4–7 · Forks of Blue Trail (Car-Camping Trailwork Adventure)

Trip Leader: Jacob Shinners

SISKIYOU WILDERNESS · UP TO 4 DAYS (CAR CAMPING)

Join us for a long weekend of hands-on stewardship on the Forks of Blue Trail in the Siskiyou Wilderness, where Bigfoot Trail Alliance crews have been steadily reopening a rugged, rain-soaked corridor.

From our car-camping basecamp, we’ll head out each day with tools and day packs to tackle the work that keeps a trail alive: brushing back dense vegetation, clearing downed logs, and improving tread and drainage in places where water and time are always trying to pull the route back into the forest.

Bigfoot Trail Alliance will provide all breakfasts and dinners—warm fuel for wet boots, good conversation, and the quiet satisfaction that comes from leaving a path clearer than you found it.

Important note: While this is a car-camping trip, daily trailwork may involve moderate hiking with tools and day packs and full days outdoors in variable early-fall conditions (heat, rain, and the occasional smoky horizon are all possible).

September 19–25 · Backcountry Trail Project

Trip Leader: Jacob Shinners

BACKCOUNTRY · UP TO 7 DAYS

This backcountry project invites volunteers into the rugged and beautiful Siskiyou Wilderness, where we’ll establish camp along a wilderness reach of the Smith River, just 1.5 miles from the trailhead. This accessible base camp offers a rare opportunity.

From camp, we’ll focus our efforts on the Bigfoot Trail, working both downriver and upstream toward Baldy Peak. These trail segments pass through steep river canyons, old forests, and high ridgelines, improving access through one of Northern California’s most scenic and wild landscapes.

Participants are welcome to join for the full project or for select portions, making this trip flexible while still offering a meaningful backcountry experience.

Backpacking dinners will be provided. Participants should plan to bring their own breakfasts and lunches, along with personal gear for backcountry camping.

Important note: While the hike to camp is relatively short, daily work will require carrying a backpack and trail tools along the Bigfoot Trail over rugged terrain. Participants should be comfortable hiking with weight and spending full days engaged in physical outdoor work.