Trails in Brief
Welcome to the UVTG home page. We have tons of stuff here. Whether you’re interested in our new BIG Bridge, our plan for a Low Gap Extension trail, or want to know how to help us with a rail trail, this is the place. Thanks for stopping by.
Take a look around and make a donation if you can. You can also be of great help by joining our list of supporters – the more we can demonstrate community support, the stronger our advocacy is. Thanks for your interest, see you on the trail.
Latest News and Events
Low Gap Extension Trail 90% Complete
Our Low Gap Trail Extension project is nearing completion. There is a mile and half of new trail that is roughed in and walk-able. To walk to the trail, do the loop and return to the parking lot gives you about a three mile walk.
We still need to remove a dirt berm from the lower edge of the trail, do some clean-up and finish work, and there's some restoration needed on areas that were impacted during construction. We had Eagle Scout candidate Travis Orr help out by building a small bridge at the first drainage crossing, thanks Travis! We're now talking to the CA Conservation Corp about helping with the finish work. It wasn't the ideal time to build trail, so it looks a little rough still, but give it six months and it's going to look great.
Thanks to our Project Sponsors, Mendocino Transit Authority and Jorge Allende, MD. Thanks also to the Paths, Open Space and Creeks Commission, the Public Health Department and to all of you who donated time and money to make this trail a reality
Record Turnout for Volunteer Trail Day
Holy trailedo! We absolutely smashed our record for volunteers on a single trail day. Thanks to River Oaks Charter School, Fetzer Vineyards, Yes We Can Mendocino, and the Peregrine Chapter of the Audubon Society we had a new record 42 volunteers pitch in 198 hours of trail work on March 22nd at Scorpion Trail. The Peregrine folks paid for lunch AND took out the monster poison oak bush that threatened to eat the entire upper section of trail. River Oaks Charter School assembled 10 students and three adults and formed their own crew. And what a crew! Like a well drilled marching band, they formed a line, worked like a unit, and got a ton of work done. Finally, Fetzer Vineyards made a snazzy donation to the UVTG and sent a crew of five volunteers to show they can also put there shovels where there wallets are. What a day! Scorpion Trail, which was completely overgrown and impassable a few years ago, is now much closer to having all its deferred maintenance taken care of. A few more days like that, and it will arguably be the nicest trail in the valley. Way to go team. See you on April 22nd when we try for a new record attendance!
Trail Work is FUN!!!
This may sound crazy, but doing volunteer trail work really (no, really) is fun. You don't have to be super strong and we all work at our own pace. We usually have some tasty treats ( check out the cinnamon rolls in the photo!), you get to go out to beautiful places, work with fun people, you get a great work out, and... you go home feeling great about how you spent your time.
Even if you can just make it once a year, that's a huge help. We have a number of regular volunteers, and it really helps them keep coming out when they see new faces and don't have to feel like it's all up to them. Our goal is to contribute 650 hours of trail work this year. We need to average 65 hours per trail day, that's thirteen volunteers per day. Just give us a five hour day and you might be surprised how much you enjoy it.
