Create a series of five to six visitor events throughout the...
Project goal: Improve trails in Yosemite Valley and the Yosemite Wilderness while providing young adults with hands-on experience, employment and education.
Why this work matters: Yosemite’s 800-mile trail network offers endless opportunities for day hikers and backpackers to experience the wonders of the Sierra Nevada. Keeping those trails in good shape, however, requires regular restoration work.
For decades, with support from our donors, Yosemite has partnered with the California Conservation Corps (CCC) to engage young adults (ages 18–25) in much-needed trail projects, as they spend a season working with and learning from world-class National Park Service crews.
The 2020 CCC Merced crew works on clearing brush from the trail to Ostrander Lake. Photo: Courtesy of NPS (July 2020).
Summer trail work on the Snow Creek Trail. Photo: Courtesy of NPS.
While living and working in the park, corps members improve dozens of miles of hiking terrain, starting in more developed frontcountry areas and then moving into the wilderness. They clear brush and fallen logs; repair damage, such as rain-carved ruts and failing tread; and construct rock walls, steps and drainage features — all while building teamwork and deep connections to the natural world.
CCC crews play a key role in ensuring Yosemite’s trails can provide safe, enjoyable hiking experiences. Their work also helps prevent erosion, protect trailside vegetation, and encourage people to stay on designated routes, so they don’t inadvertently trample plants and soil.
Along the way, corpsmembers hone restoration skills; learn about environmental science, geology and park history; and gain valuable experience that can help them in future careers.
How your support helped: In 2020, your support helped continue the Yosemite–CCC partnership and enable a crew of young adults to complete a season of restoration work, skill-building and educational seminars in the park. With your support, the CCC Merced crew worked on 35 miles of trails in and around Yosemite Valley, including on the Valley Loop, Mirror Lake, Four Mile and Yosemite Falls trails, and in the Yosemite Wilderness. Their efforts helped repair damage from winter storms, and address erosion and ruts on backcountry routes, including near Sunrise Lakes and Clouds Rest. They also completed classes and trainings in wilderness ethics, emergency and nonviolent communication, drystone masonry, wildlife, ecology, and history.
Project partners: Yosemite National Park and California Conservation Corps.