Volunteer Vacation - Grayson Highlands State Park, Virginia Trail Maintenance

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Join American Hiking Society for a week of building & maintaining trails in exciting locations across the country. Volunteer Vacations foster public land stewardship and provide volunteers the opportunity to give back to the trails they love, meet new people, and have a great time doing it! Crews consist of 6-15 volunteers accompanied by a crew leader. Volunteer Vacations involve backpacking or day hiking and accommodations vary from primitive campsites to bunkhouses or cabins. Tools and supervision are provided by the host agency or organization. Experience nature up close. Travel to new destinations. Meet other outdoor enthusiasts. Take a vacation that nourishes your body & your spirit. Get Out. Give Back.

Project Specifics:

Join this project to work near Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain, Virginia’s two highest mountains in Grayson Highlands which offers scenic views of alpine-like peaks more than 5,000 feet high. Facilities include a visitor center, campgrounds, and hiking trails leading to waterfalls and overlooks. The park provides year-round access to the Appalachian Trail and the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail.

American Hiking Society volunteers will work to complete the AHS project from 2022, a new trail that connects the Visitor Center to Massie Gap, which is needed to allow park visitors to access the high country when the parking at Massie Gap is at capacity and visitors are diverted to the nearest parking area at the Visitor Center, just over a mile up the road. There is a trail system currently in place for this, but the Big Pinnacle trail from Twin Pinnacles to Massie Gap was poorly designed along the fall line, and is therefore unsustainable and too steep for many park visitors to successfully navigate. The new 0.85 mile trail will skirt the side slope of Haw Orchard Mountain through birch groves, boulder fields and spruce stands, completely avoiding the heavily used Twin Pinnacles Trail. Some of the trail will be installed mechanically, but portions will require dirt or rock work by hand. If the new trail is completed, there is additional rock work needed on Listening Rock, another high elevation trail in the same area of the park. Volunteers will drive to the trailhead from their accommodations, and then hike approximately 1 - 1.5 miles per day. The project will be completed on Fri. July 28. To allow for additional time to explore the park and surrounding area, lodging will be available through checkout on Sun., July 30 for anyone who would like to stay an additional night.

AHS acknowledges with gratitude that this project takes place on the traditional lands of the Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) peoples past and present. We honor the land itself, the Indigenous communities who have stewarded this land for generations, and those who continue to steward these lands today. AHS invites all volunteers to join us in our commitment to support and amplify the work of Indigenous communities as they work to dismantle the systems of oppression that these communities continue to face today.

AHS acknowledges with gratitude that this project takes place on the traditional lands of the ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi (Cherokee, East), Moneton, S’atsoyaha (Yuchi), Cheraw and Yesan (Tutelo) 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.

Accommodations: Volunteers will stay in an on-site bunkhouse with 7 bunk twin beds (14 beds), refrigerator, microwave, coffeemaker and gas grill. The facility does not have water, but is adjacent to one of the bathhouses in our campground. Cookware, plates and utensils are provided, but volunteers will need to bring their own linens. For those volunteers who prefer more space for social distancing, they may also stay at the group tent site, and participants will need to provide their own camping gear. The project will be completed on Fri. July 28. To allow for additional time to explore the park and surrounding area, lodging will be available through checkout on Sun., July 30 for anyone who would like to stay an additional night.

Trip Cost: $425 per person

Volunteer Experience: While trips do not require prior trail maintenance experience, all of our projects require participants to be in good physical condition and will involve 30-40 hours of physical labor during the week.

Find More Information & Register Here: https://americanhiking.org/volunteer-vacation-trip/grayson-highlands-state-park-va-volunteer-vacations-2023/