Backcountry Trails Program

The Backcountry Trails Program is committed to the enhancement and preservation of California’s precious wilderness areas through the service of its members. Our mission is to preserve our remaining wilderness areas, making them safer and more accessible to the public through hard work and national service. We build strong functional communities based on respect, cooperation, and the tireless effort of each member. Read More

• About Us
  Each spring, the BCTP assembles six crews of young adults from widely diverse backgrounds, who leave behind the conveniences and luxuries of modern life and venture into the mountains to spend five and a half months doing some of the most challenging and ultimately rewarding work of their lives. The members who comprise each of these crews learn through experience the skills of trail maintenance and construction, and the process of building healthy, productive communities.
  
  Participants are offered an intense adventure with unique learning experiences in a truly spectacular environment. Those who complete the program will leave with renewed vigor, optimal fitness, augmented work ethic, and will be better able to live and work cooperatively with others.
  
  Highly regarded in the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and trails community, the BCTP has offered a path for those interested in pursuing jobs and careers in related fields. Over 600 former Backcountry Trail members have been hired to work in Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, various State Parks, and other parks and forests.
• Our Impact
  The Backcountry Trails Program helps land management agencies address the need to maintain, repair, and build recreational trails on public lands in California. Through the efforts of our members, trails become more environmentally sustainable and increase public access to wild spaces. Members are given an opportunity to provide high-quality service and through their experience obtain skills and make connections to help them continue as public land stewards after the program ends.