Trail Center

05/18/2026

Here is an exciting, unique and fully-supported trail work weekend opportunity, July 9-12 with the Tahoe Rim Trail Association (TRTA). This will be limited to 12-15 Trail Center volunteers and will receive supplemental supervision from experienced TRTA crew leaders.

Please register directly on the TRTA website by May 31st through the link provided below. If Trail Center doesn’t fill all the slots, the TRTA will open it up to its volunteer group; and if you sign up later, you may have to be waitlisted.

We will be adding several quality drains along about 200 yards of trail, building 2-4 stone steps (which will be something new for most of us), adding about 100 feet of new trail, and decommissioning about 100 feet of trail. We will also be cutting and grubbing as many low shrubs intruding on the trail as we have time for.

In addition to working with familiar tools (mcleods, shovels, loppers), there will be rock work using rock bars and rock nets. The elevation of the work is around 8,200 feet.

We will be staying at Marlette Peak Campground, which has a restroom and camp sites with picnic tables and bear-resistant food and trash storage boxes.

TRTA will supply all food and drinks provided by camp cooks who like to go all out on the food!

Volunteers should plan to arrive by 3:30 PM on Thursday, July 9 at the TRTA office in South Lake Tahoe (Stateline) from where we will travel by caravan to the campground, set up camp, and hang out for the evening, ready for an early morning start on Friday. We will work Friday, Saturday, and a half day on Sunday to allow for arriving back in the Bay Area Sunday evening.


Here is the link for registration:

05/12/2026

National Trails Day - June 6, 2026
8:30 am-3:00 pm

Join Trail Center and the Santa Clara County Parks for trail maintenance in beautiful Sanborn County Park. Activities will include tread repair, brushing, drain renewal and other trail work as needed. No experience necessary and we will offer training and instruction as needed. Open to anyone 14+.

Registration information coming soon.

This lushly wooded 3,453-acre park is nestled in the Santa Cruz Mountains between Saratoga and Skyline Boulevard. This mountain park of redwoods and tan bark oak offers hiking, hike-in camping, RV camping, and picnicking opportunities year-round.

05/12/2026

TICKS!!

Yes, this is a legitimately bad tick year nationally and locally

The CDC has issued an early advisory, noting that weekly ER visit rates for tick bites are the highest for this time of year since 2017, and that's true in all regions of the country except the south-central US. This year's tick season was already being forecast as one of the worst in years heading into spring.

The climate connection is real — and it's specifically about wet winters

Your climate hypothesis is spot-on. The start of the rainy season marks the start of active tick season in the Bay Area, and if wet weather persists late enough, it can extend the tick season further into summer. The mechanism is humidity — a nymphal blacklegged tick can only survive about eight hours at less than 82% humidity, so wet winters are directly tied to tick survival and abundance.

There's also a lag effect worth knowing about. Research suggests that after a particularly wet year in the Bay Area, the following spring tends to see elevated tick levels — because it takes about 18 months for the western black-legged tick to complete its life cycle. So the rains of a wet season don't just boost ticks immediately — they set up a boom one to two years later.

The Santa Cruz Mountains specifically are high-risk

Santa Cruz County has among the highest rates of Lyme disease in California, so your trail work area is already in a hotspot. Nymphal ticks in California are most active in late spring, with peak numbers in April and May — which aligns with what you've been seeing.

Broader climate trends amplifying the long-term picture

Climate change is leading to warmer winters — this past winter was one of the warmest on record — which provides more fertile conditions for ticks to breed and hatch. Brief, mild winters and long, hot springs and summers are incubators for ticks, and anytime temperatures are above freezing, ticks will be active.

See how to avoid and remove ticks, from the California Department of Public Health: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/TickBorneDiseasePrevention.aspx

05/12/2026

During our May workday at Hidden Villa we placed 18 new boards for retaining walls along the Creek Trail and the Bypass Trail. Add in some brushing and tread restoration and the Bypass Trail is now a wonderful short hike!

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05/06/2026

Bay Area Ridge Trail named one of National Geographic's 100-best hikes in the US!

Did you know you can hike segments of the Bay Area Ridge Trail? Here's a closer look at the route offering the best views in the Bay.

04/14/2026

Photos from our March work day at Waterdog Lake in Belmot.

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04/08/2026

Upcoming Events!
- April 18 - Toyon Trail in Portola Valley Ranch
- May 9 - Hidden Villa
- June 8 - National Trails Day with Santa Clara County
- July 9-16 - Summer Trip to work with Tahoe Rim Trail
- July 25 - Tool Party at Hidden Villa
- August - Portola Valley

Send a message to learn more

02/06/2026

Yes!! We'll help build the rest!

If passed, the Bay Area Ridge Trail would join the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Ice Age Trail, and eight more hikes in the federally-protected system.

01/25/2026

Just a quick heads up - our February trail day will be on the 21st at Edgewood.

01/14/2026

Moving mud is tiring work, but hopefully the improvements we made to the Sylvan Trail in Edgewood Park will mean less mud for future hikers!

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