News

Online Ticket Sales February 1-28, 2019

Onsite Ticket Sales March 1-3 at the Sedona MTB Festival

Winners Announced at the Sedona MTB Festival

Liv Pique SX Mountain Bike*

Giant Trance 29” Mountain Bike*

Shimano XTR M9100 groupset

Carbon 29” Whiskey No. 9 36w Wheel Set with 30mm internal width, DT Swiss 350 Hubs, j-bend DT Aerolite spokes/brass nipples, tubeless valve and tape

Dell XPS 13 9370 laptop with 1Y ProSupport - 13.3" - Core i5 8250U - 8 GB RAM - 12

2 person trip on any 3 to 4 day self-guided trip from www.hermostours.net or www.aztexpeditions.com plus 2 person Over The Edge 4 day Bike Rental in Arizona

Two night accommodation at Amara Resort and Spa

Rockford-Fosgate 10” 300 watt powered subwoofer, Punch 6x9” and 6.5” speakers, 600 watt 4 channel amp and installation kit

Marzocchi Bomber Z1 29 in Black 150MM 51 MM Rake Suspension Fork

Marzocchi Bomber Z1 27.5 in Black 150 MM Suspension Fork

Hollywood Racks HR1400 Sport Rider SE4 Bike Hitch Rack plus Kali Interceptor Cycling Helmet (1)

Two night accommodation at L’Auberge de Sedona & $50 food & beverage credit

Two night accommodation at Poco Diablo Resort

Red Agave Resort 1 night accommodation plus $50 gift certificate at Sound Bites Grill plus Kali Interceptor Cycling Helmet (1)

Red Agave Resort 1 night accommodation plus Sedona Bike & Bean Bike Rental for 2 plus Kali Maya Cycling Helmet (1)

Shredly MTB Shorts (1), Jersey (1) & Chamois (1) plus Kali Maya Cycling Helmet (1) plus The Melting Pot Glass Art Necklace

Pink Jeep Adventures Tours Coyote Canyon or Diamond Gulch Tour for two plus Enchantment Resort Dinner for 2 at Che Ah Chi plus Casey Cheuvront painting “Before the Hike (Girdner Trailhead)”

One night accommodation at the Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock & buffet breakfast for two plus $50 gift certificate at The Hudson

* Must be present at drawing to win

2019 MTB Giveaway Official Rules

Bike drawing is planned for 3/2/2019 approximately 5:30 pm. All other prizes will be drawn 3/3/2019 approximately 12:30 pm

Any changes will be confirmed on its website at least 48 hours before the drawings will take place

A huge thank you to all sponsors who so generously donated the above prizes

With two volunteer workdays cancelled due to the government shutdown, volunteers from all over the United States made the effort to attend the 1st 2019 Western Gateway Volunteer workday.

Many of the volunteers at today's workday

Specialized is in town with a dealer event and over 20 Specialized dealers and employees from all over the United States decided to give a little back. Justin Ingles from REI raffled off several prizes and the volunteers appreciated the Famous Pizza and Lagunitas beer at the après.

With such a large contingent of volunteers, over 1 mile of new trail was constructed and much of Ledge-n-Airy received trail corridor lopping and trimming.

 

This morning, two four-person youth crews from the American Conservation Experience (ACE) began eight weeks of construction efforts on the Western Gateway. The ACE effort is funded by a National Forest Foundation (NFF) matching award grant awarded to the Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund and mountain biker contributions from all over the Verde Valley, State of Arizona and United States that helped the Verde Valley Cyclist Coaition raise the required NFF grant match. The ACE crews are working on the Girdner re-route along with several new miles of trail added to the system should be completed in time for the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival that begins on March 1, 2019.

The Board of Directors of the Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund recently voted Scott McFeely as a Director. Scott's term expires in September 2019.

Scott is a 15 year resident of Sedona, having relocated here from Nevada in 2003 with his wife Margery. He holds a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from CSPU at Pomona, Calif., and has worked for several international engineering/ construction companies as a specialist in synthetic fuels production since 1974. He retired in 2013, after serving terms as Group Manager for Jacobs Engineering in Long Beach, Calif. and Program Manager for Fluor in Anchorage, Alaska.

Scott divides his retirement time in Sedona between Verde Search and Rescue (VSAR), as a volunteer ground searcher, the Sedona Westerners hiking club as Wagonboss (VP) and has just recently been accepted into the Preventative Search and Rescue (PSAR) volunteer program in the Grand Canyon. Through the Westerners, Scott is familiar with most of the trails in and around Sedona and commonly leads hiker groups. He has also participated in a number of hiker rescue events in the Sedona area.

On December 8th & 9th Horse Mesa Ranch held a saddle fitting class. SRRTF Event Committee members Shelley Woellmer and Bonnie Miller attended this event and spread the word to help support the red rock trails by donating to SRRTF. With help from Joan Bouck reaching out to the equestrians unable to attend the event, the women were able to raise $2,300 from our local equestrian community.

The SRRTF would like to thank each of the following persons for generously supporting our red rock trails:

Mary Morris & Scott Kummerfeldt, Egon Hagemann, Chris & Sharon Hauge, Joan Bouck, Denise Jurgensen, Tanja Gunsberger, Bee Gordon, Art Bertolina, Shelley & Ralph Woellmer, Bonnie Miller, Betsy Lavine, Sue Dolin, Trish Dees, Brandy Miller, Barb Apple, Sue Dyer, Brenda Garrett, Diana Hagemenn-Milenkovitch, Marilyn Paul, Laurie Kunert, Kelsey Woellmer, Regina Dehr, Marilyn Sanders, Mary Schroeder, Mary J Wallen, Catey Maxey, Xandy Lifson, and Harriet Jack

Photo Courtesy of  Sedona Courtyard by Marriott

The Courtyard by Marriott in Sedona hosted the Annual Sedona Chamber of Commerce Holiday Mixer on December 6, 2018.  This year event added a philanthropic element to the event by supporting the Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund.  Through its version of the infamous Wheel of Fortune Game, guests purchased ‘spins’ for $10 each at chance to win a great prize!  Partners have kindly donated restaurant certificates, spa certificates and a variety of gift prizes!  All proceeds from this activity go directly to the Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund (SRRTF).  In addition, there will be a holiday photo set where guests pay to have a professional photo taken and those proceeds will also go to the SRRTF.

The event raised close to $600 for the SRRTF. Thank you Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau and Cheryl Barron and Christine McCabe or the Sedona Courtyard by Marriott!

All workdays will be based out of the Girdner/Cultural Park Trailhead. Directions: From the intersection of Routes 89A and 179, take 89A west 4.2 miles to Cultural Park Place (Courtyard Marriott is on your left at the traffic light). Turn right onto Cultural Park Place to the picnic ramadas and interpretive displays on the right.

What to bring:

Sturdy closed toe shoes

Long pants and work gloves

Sunscreen, water and snacks

Bike helmet or hard hat (the latter will be provided by the Forest Service)

All workdays are co-sponsored by the SRRTF & REI.

Workdays start at 8:30 AM and run to 12:30 PM

Here's the remaining schedule. REI will be at each workday with prize giveaways. SRRTF brings pizza and cookies for the après. And, rumor has it that Lagunitas Brewery's finest makes an appearance after each workday.

December 6th

December 15th

December 20th

January 10th

January 19th

January 31st

February 2nd

February 7th

February 21st

Last evening, approximately 250 celebrated the Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock's 20th anniversary event. The event was an open-house "celebrating 20 years of light, warmth and hospitality."

SRRTF Board Member Paul Sullivan ran the SRRTF table at the lobby. Paul greeted every person in attendance who was waiting in line for the scavenger hunt and collected donations benefiting the SRRTF. While most donors placed cash in the collection cairn, the following individuals brought checks or charged their donation:

James Kaufman
Penelope Matthewson
Richard and Marilyn Paul
George and Pat Witteman
Spectrum Management Associates
Patricia Persons
Len And Olga Ostrom

In total, over $1,100 was raised last night. A huge thank you to the Sedona Hilton for inviting the SRRTF to participate and benefit.

The Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund (SRRTF) Board of Directors recently elected Stephanie Giesbrecht to its board of directors. Stephanie brings extensive local non-profit experience to the SRRTF board. Stephanie current serves as the Chair of the Sedona Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors having worked into that position via succession chain of Director, Secretary and Vice-Chair. Her other non-profit activities included directorships on the Rotary of Sedona Red Rocks and Sedona Airport Authority and as an advisor on the affiliate board of the Arizona Community Foundation. For the full press release, click here.

After several years of planning and fund raising, nearly 30 miles of new trail are on deck for construction thanks to collaboration of local and national partners. The Western Gateway trail project will add to the Red Rock non-motorized trail system, open to hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians.

Western Gateway trails will be accessed from the Girdner Trailhead on Cultural Park Place north of the High School. These trails will offer loops and connectors of all challenge levels, set within the naturally diverse Dry Creek drainage. The trails offer shady riparian forest, stunning views of the Red Rock Wilderness and southern vistas to Jerome and Mingus Mountain. Part of the project is the substantially rerouted Girdner Trail, away from the flood prone stream-side. Trails will also be accessible from the Aerie Trailhead.

Ground broke today with the first of a series of twelve volunteer work days sponsored by the Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund (SRRTF) and REI.

SRRTF contracted for 12 weeks of youth crew work by the Flagstaff based American Conservation Experience (ACE) beginning January 9, 2019. To be efficient, ACE crews are allowed by Forest Service (FS) to camp at the Girdner Trailhead. FS trail supervisor Forrest Saville stated that he is “committed to training and supervision of the contracted and volunteer trail crews to meet FS sustainable trail construction standards.”

Funding for Phase I of this project - over $100,000 - comes from many sources: a $40,800 grant from the Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition, $25,000 grant from the National Forest Foundation; $5,000 grant from the Singletrack Futures Foundation, REI support for trail volunteer days and many individual donations. Kevin Adams, president of SRRTF, stated “have raised the funds for Phase I and have begun fundraising for Phase II's construction effort which begins in Fall 2019. We have secured Phase II Funding from The City of Sedona, Sedona Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau, and Enchantment Resort, however more funds will be needed to complete the entire ~30 mile system by 2021."

Planning for the Western Gateway Project began nearly 5 years ago as a response to growing trail use and a need to shift use from more crowded areas. Recent City of Sedona “community focus area” planning confirmed the use of the Girdner Trailhead location as an important and well used public space. There is strong recognition of the importance of our local trails as a main venue for forest access, their contribution to a healthy lifestyle and to our local tourism economy.

SRRTF continues to work with all interested partners to complete the project. Total project costs are estimated at over $300,000 excluding trailhead improvements. SRRTF project leader Jennifer Burns emphasized how important donations from local trail users are to the success of our local trail construction projects and annual maintenance. For more information on the Western Gateway Project and to donate to help fund the project, please go to www.redrocktrailfund.org.