Enjoy Nature, Give Back

Volunteers for Outdoor California engages the community to build and maintain trails and restore natural habitat. V-O-Cal works in partnership with public agencies and other non-profit organizations and conducts large weekend stewardship projects all over Northern California. Questions? Email cmoyer@v-o-cal.org or call 650-298-9774.

Find out more about who we are, what we do and how we work.

The Owl Trail - GGNRA in the Marin Headlands

August 23-24, V-O-Cal is teaming up with the GGNRA for a trail project in the Marin Headlands just south of Stinson Beach. Camping at the Muir Beach Overlook and working from there to Slide Ranch, V-O-Cal volunteers will restore the Owl Trail, a much-used coastal hiking trail that is being lost to vegetation. Volunteers will also install steps and fencing to improve access and protect some federally listed plant species.

You can sign up here. Want more information?

V-O-Cal Projects	Dates
Napa County Parks - Oat Hill Mine Trail	May 16-18	Completed
Oakland - Kings Estates	June 6-8	Completed	more...
San Francisco - Glen Canyon Park	June 27-29	Completed	more info...
GGNRA - Owl Trail in Marin	Aug 22-24	[Sign-up]	more info...
EBRPD - Brushy Peak	Sept 12-14	[Sign-up]	more info...
CA State Parks - Big Basin	Sep 26-28	[Sign-up]

Read more about each project. *Registration begins approx. 3-4 weeks before each project.

Crew Leader Training

If you are interested in V-O-Cal Crew Leader training, contact Kevin Sullivan at 650-298-9774 or send an email to kevin@v-o-cal.org.

Donations Make the Difference

V-O-Cal is entirely funded by individual contributions, grants, and corporate sponsorships. We invite you to Join and become one of the visionary donors who make this great trail and environmental stewardship possible. Please consider supporting V-O-Cal. Your help makes a difference!

More fun to come with our 2008 Projects

Take a look at party pictures from our Volunteer Recognition and season kick-off event.

With your help, we plan to once again nearly double the number of weekend projects offered in 2008. You can bet our projects are in spectacular locations and together we accomplish fantastic things! We have identified most of our project partners for the 2008 season. Here is what you can look forward to in this years project season.

Past Projects

SF Glen Canyon Park. On a beautiful weekend in the city, 147 volunteers joined forces to make a big difference in Glen Canyon Park, building 40 steps, adding fencing to protect sensitive plants, and constructing 2 sections of raised trail to keep walkers out of the mud in winter.

Check out the QuickTime movie here

The Oat Hill Mine Trail Project in Calistoga was amazing - and HOT! Held during the record heat wave in mid-May, 148 hardy volunteers hiked and worked in 100º heat. With a minimum each-way, tool-carrying hike of 2.7 miles on Saturday, the OHMT volunteers definitely earned the smoked tri-tip and Ben & Jerry's served for dinner. Check out the pictures!

Alum Rock Park had a record turn out of volunteers. April 18-20 was our first project of 2008 and we're grateful for all the wonderful community participation. Stay tuned for photos. Send us your favorite story about the weekend.

Mt. Tam

The trail care project weekend Nov. 16-18, 2007 at Mt. Tamalpais State Park in Marin was a fun, fantastic, fog filled weekend. Volunteers restored numerous trail sections, restored drainages and cleared vegetation over the length of the Heather Cutoff Trail. Volunteers also replaced a critical retaining wall. Take a look at some of the photos. One of our volunteers Don put it best, "the trail looks magnificent." Thank you volunteers for making the V-O-Cal project a tremendous success.

Joaquin Miller Park

Over 180 eager volunteers joined us at Joaquin Miller Park, October 6 & 7, 2007. Together we accomplished a phenomenal amount of trail work, including erosion control, removing invasive plant species, rerouting trails, building culverts and drainage crossings... a little bit of everything! Thank you to all those who joined us.

A big thanks to our sponsors and to our project partners the City of Oakland, Dept. of Public Works, Dept. of Recreation, and Council Member Jean. Visit the park and take a look at the great work. Also, get a glimpse of the weekend by clicking slideshow above or viewing the photos and story posted by the fantastic Sue Piper on her Kodak Gallery.

Weekend in the Redwoods

Wow, another fun weekend, August 11 & 12, For this project, we were at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Learn more about the Henry Cowell Redwoods project. V-O-Cal volunteers conducted habitat restoration work along the river bank, built sturdy steps and made improvements to keep the trail dry year round.The River Trail trail is one of the most used in the park and it's a favorite of hikers and equestrians.

Angel Island Adventure

July 28 & 29, volunteers enjoyed spectacular views from Angel Island. The project results are fantastic and everyone had a great time. See photos on our Picassa Web Album... take a look.

Sky Ranch Success

To celebrate National Trail Days, V-O-Cal teamed up with Muir Heritage Land Trust. And wow! We hosted over 300 volunteers in carving this 2-mile trail from start to finish in less than 48 hours. Groups of 6-10 people, each with its own crew leader, worked hard, had fun and together created this new spur of the Bay Area Ridge Trail. See a few pictures. Our sincere thanks to everyone who participated.

Rock Solid Start

Thanks to fantastic volunteers, great project partners, and detailed event planning, the first project of the season was a complete success! Held on May 5 & 6 at Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park near Gilroy, we have great stories to share and new trails to show for all the hard work.

Crew Leaders

Crew leaders are key to successful V-O-Cal projects. Our training program is designed to give you the leadership skills you can use in all aspects of your life. If you would like to learn more about leading volunteer groups and caring for trails, contact us.