The Trails Council offers three workshops within our trail stewardship program. Each workshop addresses the technical aspects of trail maintenance. Trainees will receive instruction in trail construction and maintenance techniques, following California State Parks’ standards, with a focus on identifying existing problems, and developing improvement plans to maintain targeted trails. The leadership workshop is for those interested in crew leadership for the Trails Council.

The workshops are taught by Trails Council experts and guests from all over California. Each class is free; however priority registration is given to Trails Council members.

Learn to Think Like Water is our introduction to trail stewardship and maintenance. This workshop provides participants with general knowledge on how water, trail design, soil types and the impacts of users conspire to destroy trails. Through a combination of lecture, discussion and field exercises we cover the following topics: tools and terminology, analyzing water flow, drainage structures, cut & fills for berms and entrenchment, trio maintenance, switchbacks, and stream crossings.

Building Trail Structures is our more advanced workshop. This workshop provides participants an overview on how to build various rock or wooden structures. The first workshop is highly recommended for those interested in this class. Participants will learn how to build one of the following structures including- causeways, drainage lens, retaining walls, armoring, culverts, and steps.

The Leadership Workshops, trainees will receive instruction on how to effectively lead crews, while building and maintaining quality trail. There are three main categories of crew leading skills, taught in the seminar and in the field: technical skills, people skills, and safety skills. Fieldwork involves apprenticing under crew leader trainers, eventually leading crews on several workdays. During these workdays trainers observe and evaluate tool use, trail building technique, and leadership skills.

Upcoming Trails Stewardship Workshops.

Learn to Think Like Water-March 22 Shiloh Ranch Regional Park
Building Trail Structures-May 30 Annadel State Park
Crew Leadership 101-Summer/Fall 2009 Classroom Lecture

Current SCTC Instructors: Geoffrey Skinner, Rob Helms, Tim Mayer, and Tony Garcia