Friends of the Forest volunteers with the Forest Service Trail Crew at the Jim Thompson Trailhead.

The number one attraction for the nearly three million visitors to Sedona and the Red Rocks each year is hiking, biking, and riding on our area’s 400 miles of spectacular trails. Those of us fortunate to call Sedona home get to experience these world-class trails every day. As the popularity and use of the trails increase, the pressure put on them goes up as well. Building and maintaining these trails falls to a handful of dedicated U.S. Forest Service employees who work tirelessly to enhance the experience for visitors and residents alike. But there are too many trails, too many miles, and too few Forest Service workers to keep up with everything required. 

That’s where the volunteers of the Friends of the Forest Trail Maintenance & Construction Committee come in. Thirty years ago, Friends of the Forest was formed by a group of civic-minded volunteers as a non-profit, non-political organization to partner with the Forest Service in addressing trail maintenance and other issues facing the Red Rock District of the Coconino National Forest. Today, numerous of your friends and neighbors work hand in hand with the Forest Service to clear brush, repair erosion damage, build steps and retaining walls, clear downed trees, build drainage channels, install fencing, build and rebuild rock cairn baskets, and pick up trash across the district. Trails worked on in just the last two months include Bell, Sterling Pass, Jim Thompson, Hot Loop, Jacks Canyon, AZ Cypress, Fay Canyon, and Cibola Pass. Next month you’ll find them out on Old Post, Carrol Canyon, Parsons, Margs Draw, Woods Canyon, and Chuck Wagon. If you feel your favorite trail needs some work, let the Friends know; they’ll get out there as soon as they can.

In addition to general trail maintenance, the group is also responsible for the iconic redwood signs that we’re all familiar with. The sign crew cuts, routs, sands, stains, and installs hundreds of signs each year. It is an ongoing project as signs are continually in need of replacement due to weather, physical damage from both humans and animals, and theft.  

Rehabilitating non-system, user-created, “social” trails is another never ending project. These shortcuts, which in the past may have been used by just a small number of local residents, are now heavily used due to increased visitation, and the increased popularity of trail apps that direct people off of system trails. Unfortunately, many of these social trails go through environmentally and culturally sensitive areas. To address this problem, the Friends group constructs barriers with natural materials, replants vegetation, and installs “Please Keep on the Trail” and “Don’t Bust the Crust” signs.  

Upcoming over the next couple of years will be a project helping the Forest Service implement their new Red Rock Trail Access Plan. The plan will add 39 miles of system trails at Doe Mountain, Turkey Creek, Schuerman Mountain, and Bell Rock, and will involve building new trails, adopting and improving existing user-created trails, and closing and rehabilitating miles of social trails.

Author, Glen Kingsbury

It is clear that there is much to be done to maintain and improve the trail system of the Red Rock District. The trails are central to what Sedona is all about. It is also clear that the Forest Service does not have the resources to do it by themselves. We all have to chip in and do what we can to help make and keep our area the wonderful place it is; joining the Friends of the Forest and participating in its activities to support the Forest Service is a great way to do this. Although working on the trail crew is probably the most physically demanding, there are also other ways for people to help make our community and our forest better for all. Please go to Friends of the Forest Sedona for more information.

Serving Sedona, written this week by Glen Kingsbury, Friends of the Forest, appears Wednesday in the Sedona Red Rock News.