Access to trails and open spaces makes Santa Cruz one of the happiest places to live and play. Whether you’ve ridden from the office to the mountains after work, hiked with friends for an oceanside happy hour, or spent time at local pump tracks with little ones, you’ve felt a bit of that trail magic.
Decades of research also show that trails help improve public mental and physical health, curb screen addiction, and build resilience in the face of wildfires and climate change. Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship (SCMTS) is the local nonprofit behind our trails’ care and expansion, and this holiday season, they need community support to bring more world-class to our home.
Your Local Trail Stewardship
SCMTS is a team of trail lovers who believe that when you give folks access to nature, you can inspire them to care for it. Their work building and maintaining sustainable trails helps everyone, regardless of age or ability, get outside so that communities and landscapes can thrive through trails. Their team’s professional Trail Crew brings new, world-class outdoor experiences to life and provides emergency relief to beloved open spaces. Their passionate volunteers maintain trails across the region four days a week. And their events bring the community together to create meaningful connections to nature.
SCMTS has worked in the area for 26 years and has built new trails in Wilder Ranch, Pogonip, and Soquel Demonstration State Forest. They’ve got exciting new trail construction and restoration projects on the horizon in special parks like Big Basin, and need the community’s help to get this work off the ground.
Projects in need of support include:
19 Miles of Trails at Cotoni-Coast Dairies
SCMTS is building an all-new trail network at Cotoni-Coast Dairies, a 6,000-acre property and National Monument in Davenport.
Their team has finished building 9 miles of trails at the northern portion of the property (a public opening is forthcoming), and they’re ready to dig into the next 10 miles planned for development in the Panther Beach area. Trails are designed, approved, and shovel-ready–all that’s missing is funding.
Once completed, visitors will enjoy ocean views from trails that wind along marine terraces, dip between oak trees, and climb up into the clouds of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Help SCMTS complete the trail buildout by making a contribution to support their work today.
Trail Rebuilding in Big Basin’s Charred Backcountry
Big Basin’s backcountry trails have been closed since the CZU wildfires of 2020. SCMTS is working to change that.
Following their Trail Crew’s natural resources work in the park, Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship will dig into trail rebuilding and restoration in California’s oldest and most historic State Park. The reimagined trails will not only get more folks out on safe and fun backcountry adventures, but also serve as fire breaks to improve long-term resilience in Big Basin and surrounding neighborhoods.
Learn more about SCTMS’ fire relief work and support their efforts with a donation today.
More Inclusive and Impactful Stewardship Events
SCMTS’ stewardship programs have a transformative impact on communities and nature alike. Year after year, they host hundreds of volunteer events to connect the community to the outdoors and empower them to steward over 60 miles of local trails. So far, they’ve completed 5,000 hours of trail work this year and helped 800 volunteers play a role in trail upkeep.
Next year, they’ll take their volunteer programs even further, with expanded bilingual events and a larger range of offerings to welcome more first-time volunteers into trail stewardship.
SCMTS’ programs and classes are always open to everyone and come at no cost, but they provide immense value to the Santa Cruz Mountains community each year. A donation to SCMTS ensures their continuity. Give today to support their work!
