Great Trails for Volunteering and Camping with WTA

Looking for a way to spend one of your last summer weekends? Gather some close friends or family and join WTA on an overnight trip! Volunteering on weekend work parties is a great way to give back to trails, have a fun camping experience and get to know other people who love being outdoors, all at the same time.

You'll spend your weekend eating burgers around a campfire, sleeping under the stars and digging around in the dirt in a spectacular outdoor setting when you volunteer on a weekend work party with us. You'll get free camping, and you can share a meal with other volunteers you've worked alongside that day. For most official weekend work parties, WTA provides a Saturday night meal of burgers (veggie also available) and soda; all you need to bring is a side dish to share.

So find your favorite potluck recipe and ask a couple of friends to join you on one of these opportunities to take care of a trail in this beautiful state.

Racetrack Trail (Southwest Washington)

We'll be restoring tread, clearing drains, and brushing back encroaching vegetation on this popular trail in the Indian Heaven Wilderness near Red Mountain. The day will start at the Falls Creek Horse Camp and we'll hike about a mile in to the Indian Race Track. This space was a berry gathering area for Native Americans until the early 1900s. It also served as a cross-Cascade trading route and, as the name suggests, a track for pony races.

Camp with us for free, and don't worry about bringing a Northwest Forest Pass for this hike; it's not required!

>> Sign up to volunteer at the Racetrack Trail August 24 -25, on one or both days.

Glacier View Trail (Central Washington)

This trail includes breathtaking views of Mount Rainier and ends at Glacier View, once the site of a fire lookout. With an optional .5 mile extension to Lake West or 1.3 mile extension to Lake Helen, this trail has plenty of options for exploring the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District. But that means it gets plenty of wear! While WTA has worked on 2.7 miles of this trail, it still needs almost a mile more of tread restoration. We'll work on the first 1 mile of trail.

>> Sign up to volunteer on the Glacier View Trail September 7 - 8, one or both days.

Leadbetter Point State Park (Southwest Washington)

You don't need to be an experienced camper to participate in this work party. We need volunteers to help with new trail construction at Leadbetter Point State Park, and the reward for your hard work is luxurious accommodations. Stay in the lighthouse keeper's house, enjoy feather beds with down comforters, and take in the beautiful Southwest Washington coast near Cape Disappointment over your choice of two weekends in September.

Thanks to restoration efforts by Washington State Parks and the Trumpeter Swan Society, a trail project has been implemented that will provide the public an opportunity to visit the Hines Marsh area by linking it to the existing trail system at Leadbetter Point State Park. WTA volunteers started work on the Hines Marsh Trail last year and construction continues this year.

These promise to be fun, productive weekends, and the unique opportunity to stay in the lighthouse keeper's quarters is not one to be passed up. Join us for one or both weekends; accommodation will be provided for the evening before the work parties start.

>> Sign up to volunteer at Leadbetter Point State Park September 13 - 14.

>> Sign up to volunteer at Leadbetter Point State Park September 29 - 30.

Volunteer and camp at Leadbetter Point. Photo by Kathy Bogaards.

Ape Cave View Point (Southwest Washington)

Help be a part of the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument's expansion of recreational opportunities. A five year investment plan has allowed WTA to build a mile long trail linking the Ape Cave Trailhead to a scenic vista of the volcano's southern flank. Our goal is to have this trail open to the public by the end of September, but we need your help to do it! Take the down time between the end of work and beginning of the potluck to explore several routes in and around the Ape Caves.

>> Sign up to volunteer at Ape Cave View Point September 14 - 15, one or both days.

Trails at Heather Meadows (North Cascades)

Take a weekend and work under the impressive massifs of Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan in the North Cascades, outside of Bellingham. We have partnering with the Bellingham REI, and a lucky volunteer just might win a little bonus prize for working with us on National Public Lands Day. We will work on one or two trails in the area, with car camping and a barbecue scheduled on Saturday night.

>> Sign up to volunteer at Heather Meadows, September 28.

>> Sign up to volunteer at Heather Meadows, September 29.