Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge, TX – Volunteer Vacations 2023

Join this project and help maintain access to a trail system that winds through bayous, oxbow lakes, privet swamps, and cypress-tupelo swamps! Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge is home to 22 actively-managed trails. They are styled as primitive trails to give the visitors ‘a walk in the woods’ type of experience. Paseo de los Patos Trailhead, located at the scenic Champion Lake Public Use area, is home to our newest 2 miles of trails where an interpretive Scat Exhibit can be found along the trails. The Knobby Knees Trailhead located at the edge of Liberty Municipal park is the gateway to 9 miles of rustic trails, including shoreline vistas of the Trinity River. Finally the Great’s Egret’s Ridge Trailhead, 7 miles of trails, leads to mysterious oxbows and meandering bayous.

Volunteers will support maintenance needs including removing fallen vegetation and limbs from the trails and trimming vegetation that has grown into the trails. Volunteers will also work on restoring tree paint and adding new signage where trail markers have faded or degraded over time. The host staff will provide a worksite vehicle so volunteers can drive the paved roads to the worksite. Longest driving distance will be 20 miles.

There is no experience needed to join a Volunteer Vacation! Your expert hosts will provide detailed instruction, tool demonstrations, and project oversight throughout the week. All you need is a willing attitude and to be in good physical condition to participate in moderate physical activity for approximately 6-8 hours a day with plenty of breaks, at your own pace. Find out more about what it’s like to join a Volunteer Vacation and other frequently asked questions here.

AHS acknowledges with gratitude that this project takes place on the traditional lands of the Ishak (Atakapa) and Akokisa peoples past and present. We honor the land itself, the Indigenous communities who have stewarded this land for generations, their deep and sacred connection to these lands, and those who continue to steward these lands today. We offer this land acknowledgement as the first of many steps to stand as an ally and amplify Indigenous voices. We invite the American Hiking Society community to join us through continued efforts to support Indigenous communities and learn more about the history of the lands on which we live, work and recreate.