One of the best parts of living and working in and around Sedona is not only the sense of community, but the community’s commitment to caring for what it values.

Every trail season, people from the Village of Oak Creek to Flagstaff give their time to work alongside U.S. Forest Service staff, dramatically expanding what can be accomplished across the Red Rock trail system.

Funding is critical to maintaining and building our trails, but so are the people willing to show up, pick up a tool and get their hands dirty. Our local nonprofit partners and their volunteers return season after season, giving their time, energy and expertise simply because they care about these trails.

Last year alone, nearly 800 volunteers contributed more than 3,500 hours maintaining and building trails throughout the Red Rock Ranger District.

That is what community commitment looks like on the ground.

Friends of the Forest, Inc. is dedicated to assisting the U.S. Forest Service in maintaining, protecting and restoring the scenic beauty and natural and cultural resources of forest lands for the enjoyment and use of present and future generations.

This nonprofit volunteer organization works in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service on projects it may not otherwise have the human or financial resources to accomplish, like the project photographed above of FOF volunteers building a retaining wall on Teacup.

The FOF Trail Maintenance & Construction Committee (TM&C) is a dedicated group of more than 85 volunteers who work on nonmotorized trails throughout the Red Rock Ranger District under Forest Service guidance. The crew typically works alternating Fridays during the nonsummer months, with additional days occasionally added for wilderness maintenance or special projects.

One of the strengths of TM&C is its consistency. Largely the same group of experienced volunteers participates throughout the season, creating a crew with considerable familiarity with our trails and the work required to care for them. This continuity makes TM&C particularly effective at tackling both ongoing maintenance and more specialized projects.

During the past season, an average of 12 to 15 volunteers participated each workday, contributing 1,077 hours over more than 17 workdays dedicated specifically to trail projects throughout the district.

And their work covers a lot of ground. TM&C volunteers remove brush and fallen trees, improve trail tread and drainage, perform dry masonry work, and assist with new trail construction. A TM&C subcommittee also makes and installs trail signs.

FOF volunteers are often called upon for special projects beyond traditional trail maintenance. That work has included building, repairing and removing fences, establishing or improving access paths to cultural sites, removing trailhead trash, and installing trailhead kiosks and signage.

Combined with these additional projects, FOF TM&C volunteers contributed 1,452 hours this past season.

The breadth of volunteer opportunities at FOF is incredible. The organization’s activities include:

The SRRTF supports public trail volunteerism in several ways, helping connect our community directly with the care of the Red Rock trail system.

Public Volunteer Events give anyone the opportunity to work side by side with the U.S. Forest Service Red Rock Trail Crew (RRTC) on trail maintenance and new construction throughout the Red Rock Ranger District. No previous trail work experience is necessary.

During a typical workday, volunteers are divided into smaller groups led by RRTC members and get hands on experience with a wide variety of trail work. Depending on the project, that might mean brushing new trail corridor, breaking ground on new tread, armoring sections of trail with rock, constructing rock retaining walls, or building and maintaining drainage features.

These are half day events and are open to everyone, with no registration or sign up required.

The Trail Fund is proud to sponsor lunch for roughly 20 public volunteer events each season, including the event photographed above on Hiline, where volunteers worked on tread maintenance and armoring. After a morning of moving dirt and rock, we are happy to treat these hardworking volunteers to some local fare.

SRRTF also promotes U.S. Forest Service volunteer opportunities across our media channels, helping get the word out and encouraging more people to come experience trail work firsthand.

And we are working to make that experience even better. SRRTF is developing a volunteer education program to complement the training provided by the Forest Service. The goal is to give volunteers some foundational knowledge before they arrive, so they can better understand the work, build their skills, and get to work more quickly on the morning of a volunteer day.

Whether you have years of trail experience or have never picked up a trail tool, public volunteer days are an opportunity to learn from the Red Rock Trail Crew, meet other people who care about our trails, and put a little of your own sweat into the trails you love.

This local nonprofit bike club loves to get outside and get its hands dirty. And not just on mountain bike trails.

With 340 members representing communities throughout the Verde Valley, the Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition (VVCC) is an important volunteer partner in caring for nonmotorized trails across the Red Rock Ranger District. This past season alone, VVCC held 14 volunteer workdays specifically for its members with the U.S. Forest Service. VVCC members also regularly turned out for public volunteer trail days throughout the season.

But VVCC’s involvement often starts well before anyone picks up a tool.

A smaller group of experienced VVCC volunteers uses CalTopo, a mapping tool, to identify and document potential trail areas needing maintenance. The Red Rock Trail Crew (RRTC) reviews those observations, and experienced volunteers scout projects with the crew to help plan upcoming workdays. Together, they identify maintenance priorities, determine how many volunteers are appropriate for each work area, and figure out what tools and resources will be needed.

VVCC volunteers also bring an important perspective to the work as experienced mountain bikers. While these are nonmotorized trails shared by many types of users, how a mountain biker moves through a trail can be highly nuanced. Line choice, speed, corner radius and the approach to an obstacle or feature can all affect both the riding experience and how a trail wears over time.

Working under Forest Service guidance, VVCC volunteers can provide that rider perspective when the RRTC is considering maintenance solutions. That might include maintaining bermed turns, building armored ramps, rebuilding features with alternative lines, improving corner radius, or considering how speed affects the layout of a trail or feature. This collaboration helps accomplish needed maintenance while also considering how that work affects the trail experience.

Rock work was one of the season’s biggest successes. With a core group of returning volunteers who had developed valuable rock work experience, the RRTC and VVCC were able to take on substantially more technically demanding maintenance. Trails including Skywalker, Slim Shady, Hangover, Jordan, Ground Control, Big Park Loop, Broken Arrow and others all benefited.

The amount of rock maintenance completed this season more than doubled from the previous season, thanks in significant part to VVCC’s dedicated volunteers.

Together, VVCC and public volunteer workdays contributed approximately 2,100 volunteer hours to the Red Rock trail system this season.

Want to be part of it?

The Public and VVCC Volunteer Workday schedule will be published October 16, 2026. VVCC workdays are open to the public, with no registration or sign up required. Whether you are an experienced trail volunteer or have never picked up a trail tool, there’s always room for more hands.