Location: Joshua Tree National Park, CA
Strenuous: A max of 5-mile one-way daily hikes with ~800′ elevation change
Front country: Tent camping near cars

Join us for a week of trail monitoring and maintenance (brushing, drain clearing, and trail delineation) along the California Riding and Hiking Trail within Joshua Tree National Park. The trail is beautiful and diverse; showcasing both monzogranite and gneiss, a section of basalt, Joshua tree stands, and expansive mountain views. The project may also include helping transport various building materials to project sites.

Location: Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, AZ
Strenuous. Up to 2-mile one-way hikes
Front country: tent camping near cars at the refuge outpost

Our service project will be to mitigate ephemeral streams by creating one-rock dams. The objective is to slow any precious water from rainfall down, giving the vegetation a chance to thrive, and enhance the habitat for the Masked Bobwhite Quail.

Location: Mojave National Preserve, CA
Strenuous: 4-10 mile daily hikes with ~800′ elevation change
Front country: Dispersed tent or car camping

Join us for a week of continued watering support for replanted Joshua trees within the Dome Fire burn area (2021). This area is modeled by scientists as a climate refuge for the species. We will also work to remove cages from inside the Wilderness boundary. 

Location: Online class

This project is currently by invitation only. This hybrid Leader Training Course consists of a 10-week online program in addition to a Wilderness Volunteers project of the student’s choice to complete the training. If you’re interested in becoming a Wilderness Volunteers project leader, please email us at info@wildernessvolunteers.

Location: Hole in the Rock, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Strenuous. 3-5 daily hikes; ~300′ elevation gain.
Front country: dispersed tent camping near cars
This is a medium elevation project: ~4800′.

Join us at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument as we work on several much-needed projects: remediating visitor impacts and dispersed camping impacts along the popular Hole in the Rock Road. The rough daily hiking distance is around 3 miles of hiking each day and less than 800 feet of elevation gain.

Location: City of Rocks National Reserve, ID
Strenuous: 4-8 mile daily hikes
Front country: Tent or car camping in a designated campground

Join us for a week of fuel reduction and planting work in the City of Rocks National Reserve. We’ll work alongside the NPS to remove dead Pinyon Pine killed by black stain root rot and will also be planting native vegetation seed to promote new growth.

Location:  Grandstaff Canyon Wilderness Study Area, UT
Strenuous. Up to an 8-mile daily hike.
This is a medium elevation project: 6000+ ft.
Front country. Tent camping near cars.

Join us for a week of trail work on trails damaged by the flash flooding received in the summer of 2022.

Location: Hammond Canyon, Manti La-Sal National Forest
Strenuous. See service project details
Hybrid. 3 days/2 nights dispersed tent camping near cars. 4 days/3 nights backpack camping (pack supported)
This is a medium elevation project: ~6500′.

Join us on this hybrid-style project in the Hammond Canyon portion of Bears Ears National Monument. Our work week will consist of trail work, including brushing and building water drainage structures, and possible fence work.

Location: Allegheny National Forest, PA
Strenuous. Daily 5-mile hikes
Front country: tent camping near cars

A VOLUNTEER PROJECT SUGGESTION!

In another new project partnership for Wilderness Volunteers, we’re very excited to spend a week working in the Allegheny National Forest. We’ll spend the week working on drainage issues on the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST).

Location: North Fork, ID
Strenuous. Daily hikes up to 4 miles with 750′ change
Front country. Tent camping near cars.
This is a medium elevation project: 4000+ ft.

Come camp along Panther Creek as we spend the week improving area trails.

Location: Custer, SD
Active. Bending, lifting. 
Dormitory.

A VOLUNTEER PROJECT SUGGESTION

Join us for our first-ever project in the Black Hills National Forest! We’ll spend the week at the historic Camp Bob Marshall, reconstructing paths in the campground, building stairs, and adding railways to make the paths safer for users.

Location:  North Fork John Day Wilderness, Umatilla National Forest
Strenuous. ~5 mile backpack in with 700′ lost. Daily hikes of 4-8 miles.
Backcountry: backpack camping with pack support
This is a medium elevation project: beginning at 5,100′

Help address backlogged trail maintenance issues on the North Fork John Day River Trail and the Silver Hill Trail, in the beautiful North Fork John Day Wilderness. 

Location: Hope, AK
Strenuous. Daily hikes up to 3 miles. 
Front country: tent camping in a designated campground

We are ecstatic to return to Chugach National Forest, Seward Ranger District (Hope, AK) for a 100-foot trail reroute to mitigate an eroding bluff that is taking the trail with it.

Location: Coffee Creek, CA
Strenuous. 6-mile hike w/ 1,600′ gain. Daily hikes 3-6 miles w/ 800′-1400′ change.
Backpacking with pack support
This is a high-elevation project: 6,100’+ ft.

Spend a week in the beautiful Trinity Alps Wilderness to complete trail work with a focus on clearing the trail of downed trees with crosscut and hand saws, clearing brush, and re-treading sections of the trail.

Location: Snowmass, CO
Challenging. 3 mile backpack with 500′ gain
Backpacking with no pack support
This is a high-elevation project: 9,500-10,300 ft.

Join this project in Colorado’s surreal Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness! This project will involve the maintenance and construction of stabilization and drainage features on the Capitol Creek and Capitol Ditch trails.

Project Sponsor: In loving memory and honor of Norman Goree Kittrell III, who loved hiking, Colorado, and “giving back”.

Location: Denali National Park & Preserve, AK
Strenuous. Daily hikes of ~3 miles
Front country: camping in huts with amenities

Spend the week working with the Denali National Park Trail Crew as we tackle routine trail maintenance and brush clearing, as well as working on the construction of new segments of the hiking trail.

Location: Bagley Valley, CA
Strenuous. 1 mile daily hikes. 
Front country: tent camping near cars
This is a medium elevation project: 6,400+ ft.

Join us in the stunning Sierra Nevadas this summer for a week of trail maintenance in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

Location: Aneroid Lake, OR
Strenuous. A 6-mile backpack in with 2900′ gain. Daily hikes of 5-7 miles. 
Backpacking with pack support.
This is a medium/high elevation project: 5,500′-7,500′

Join us for a week at Aneroid Lake nested high in the Eagle Cap Wilderness completing a wide variety of trail maintenance projects!

Location: Wright’s Lake, CA
Strenuous. 7.5-mile hike with ~1500′ gain
Backpacking with pack support.
This is a high-elevation project: 8,000+ ft.

Spend a week volunteering with trail work, campsite restoration, and more surrounded by alpine lakes and stunning granite features.

Location: Chocolate Lakes, CA
Strenuous. Backpack in ~2 miles with 1000’ vertical gain. Daily hikes of ~1 mile, 400′ gain. 
This is a high-elevation project: 9000′-10500’+

This service project will focus on trail maintenance and construction on the Chocolate Lakes loop in Inyo National Forest. 

This project is sponsored by an anonymous donor. 

Location: Sedona, AZ
Strenuous. Up to 2-mile RT daily hikes. Work includes lifting, bending, and some slopes are steep/loose

Front country: tent camping in a designated campground.

Join us in beautiful Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona, AZ! We’ll spend the week managing erosion and closing unsanctioned social trails along the creek.

Sponsor: Pizzicletta

Location: Glen Jean, WV
Strenuous. Up to 6-mile daily hikes
Front country: Dormitory (Camp Brookside)

Visit West Virginia’s stunning New River Gorge National Park and Preserve and spend the week volunteering to remove invasive plants, pick up trash and plastics, maintain trails, and do small projects.

Location:  Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, WI
Front country: tent camping in a designated campground
Strenuous. 6-8 mile daily hikes.

We are excited about our new project partnership with Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, working in 3 Wilderness areas doing an assortment of tasks. 

Location: Mt. Hood, OR
Active. Daily hikes of up to 3 miles. 
Front country. Tent camping near cars.

This project is currently by invitation only. This in-person Leader Training Course goes through the leader training curriculum and practices this content in the field. If you’re interested in becoming a Wilderness Volunteers project leader, please email us at info@wildernessvolunteers.

Location:  Vesuvius Recreation Area, OH
Active. Max daily hikes of 4 miles.
Front country: tent camping in a designated campground

Ohio is calling and Wayne National Forest needs your help! Volunteer for a week in the Ironton Ranger District as we take on trail maintenance, cleaning drainage features, tread maintenance, weed eating, and pruning the trail corridor.

Location: Allen Canyon, UT
Strenuous. 3-5 mile daily hikes carrying daypacks and tools.
Backcountry: dispersed tent camping near cars
This is a medium elevation project: 5,800+ ft.

The Manti-La Sal National Forest Heritage Program invites Wilderness Volunteers to join us in conducting archaeological site recording in the Research Natural Area (RNA) of Allen Canyon.

Location: Alvey Wash, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Strenuous. 3-4 miles each day; ~800′ elevation gain.
Front country: dispersed tent camping near cars
This is a medium elevation project: ~5300′.

Help retreatment efforts of Russian Olive in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument using hand saws, and loppers. 

Location: Devils Tower, WY
Strenuous. Daily hikes of 3-miles with 350′ gain
Front country: tent camping in a designated campground
This is a medium elevation project: 3,800+ ft.

We’re so excited to return here! Join us for a variety of tasks including the manual removal of wooden bollards, debris removal from boundary fences, shoring up gaps/holes in our boundary fence, and possible a few more projects!

Location: Safford, AZ
Strenuous. 3-mile backpack and daily hikes up to 2 miles
Backpacking with limited pack support.

We are so excited to co-host a collaborative 4-day project with Wild Arizona in the Galiuro Wilderness to complete brushing, logouts, and tread work!

Location: Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Strenuous. 2-mile daily hikes, repetitive heavy lifting
Front country: tent camping in a designated campground
This is a high-elevation project: 7000′-9500′ ft.

Do you like to see the fruits of your labor? If so, consider joining our 2022 Bryce Canyon National Park project! We’ll spend the week relocating slash produced from thinning operations to areas a safe distance away from conservation trees.

Location: Shenandoah National Park, VA
Strenuous. 4-8 mile daily hikes, varied project scope
Front Country: tent camping at a designated campground

This project is designed to distribute the labor of a Wilderness Volunteer crew among several divisions within Shenandoah National Park to accomplish the most amount of work, to allow the crew to experience many different aspects within a national park, etc.

Location: Stratton, VT
Strenuous. 2.2 miles, 100′ of elevation gain. Daily hikes of 1-4 miles. 
Backcountry: backpack camping with support

Spend a week in the gorgeous Lye Brook Wilderness. We’ll spend the week on trail maintenance: clearing brush and blow-downs along ~2.5 miles of the Lye Brook trail (Forest Trail 431) utilizing hand saws, loppers, and cross-cut saws. 

Location: Three Rivers, CA
Active.
Front country: tent camping in a designated campground
This is a high-elevation project: 6,000+ ft.

Volunteers will help park staff with restorative planting in Sequoia Groves after devastating wildfires, and other needed work. 

Location: City of Rocks National Reserve, ID
Strenuous: 4-8 mile daily hikes
Front country: Tent or car camping in a designated campground

This project is designed to completely reestablish Owl Rock Trail, which has fallen into great disrepair though trail maintenance, clearing vegetation, and more. 

Location: Saguaro National Park (east), AZ
Strenuous. Pulling buffelgrass.
Front country. Dispersed tent camping.

Help eradicate the invasive buffelgrass and fountain grass! Spend a fall week in the desert digging out this problematic invasive as we continue to help to give natural vegetation a chance.

Project Sponsor: Friends of Saguaro National Park

Location: Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, AZ
Strenuous. Up to 2-mile one-way hikes carrying/lifting fencing materials
Front country: tent camping near cars in a secured refuge compound

Our service project will be removing old interior barbed-wire fences leftover from ranching days in cooperation with volunteers from Friends of Buenos Aires NWR. The fence removal is part of an ongoing 16-year project by the Refuge to remove interior fences; a small length of the fence remains down from over 150 miles of fence that originally existed.

Location: Gold Butte National Monument, NV
Strenuous. ~ 3-mi hike RT daily. 
Front country. Dispersed tent camping near cars.

Volunteer your time to this compelling and rich National Monument with projects like signage installation and maintenance, invasive removal, and restoration efforts on a closed motorized trail in the Mud Wash area of Red Rock Springs.