Building

Friendships & Memories

Building

& Maintaining Trails

Building

The Future

& Preserving Legacy

Building

Community with

Guided Hikes & Events

News & Events

Quarterly meeting is April 9th. We will be accepting and voting on new board members at this meeting. Please join us! Location TBD based on weather.

Fall works has concluded for the season, thanks to all our volunteers!

Tree work at Indian Creek. Stay away. See message from BLM.

Check our new ATA brochure: find it here.

Thanks for all the support at Woollystar Festival.

About Us

Alpine Trails is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit focused on building and maintaining trail infrastructure in Alpine County. We suport all non-motorized trails in partnership with Humboldt Toiyabe and BLM to promote hiking, cycling, and horseback riding.

Man walking on a trail

Alpine Trails Assocation Mission Statement

Alpine Trails Association (ATA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) all volunteer organization of enthusiasts working in cooperation with County, State and /Federal agencies to improve non-motorized access to public lands in Alpine County CA.

Who We Are and What We Do

The Alpine Trails Association (ATA) first met in July of 2013 to create a non-profit organization whose purpose would be to create and maintain a network of non-motorized, hiking, biking, and equestrian trails in Alpine County, CA. Budget shortfalls and limited staffing within government agencies has created a need for volunteer organizations to work with County, State and Federal agencies to ensure that trail systems remain open. Recreational tourism is the base of Alpine County’s economy. Therefore it is important to maintain access to the Public Lands which make up 96% of Alpine County.

The ATA has completed work on over 15 miles of trails and logged over 10,000 hours of volunteer time since our creation. We maintain several trails on BLM lands in the Indian Creek Recreation Area including a 1 mile interpretive loop at Curtz Lake and the Carson River Trail from Curtz Lake to the East fork of the Carson river below Hangman’s Bridge. The Forest Service network trails we maintain include the Charity Valley Trail from Grover Hot Springs Rd. to Blue Lakes Rd. and the Burnside Lake Trail connecting Charity Valley to Burnside Lake. We are also working to reestablish the historic Thornburg Canyon Trail in the Mokelumne Wilderness from Sawmill Rd. in Markleeville to Blue
Lakes Rd.

Future plans include all east slope network trails in Alpine County including Wolf Creek and the High Trail giving access to the Carson Iceberg Wilderness.

We are always looking for trail building volunteers and people willing to make donations to our 501(c)(3) organization. All proceeds will go towards maintaining and expanding Alpine County’s trail network.

Hiking

Biking

Equestrian

+
miles of trail restoration & construction
+
volunteer hours

Overview of our Trails

ATA is primary focused on building and maintaining trails in four recreational areas within Alpine County:

Thornburg Canyon Trail

The Thornburg Canyon Trail is located in the Mokulomne Wilderness in Alpine County CA. This historic Wilderness trail is approximately 8 miles long. Total elevation change is 2500’.

Charity Valley Trail

The Charity Valley Trail is located in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Alpine County, CA. It stretches approx. 8.5 miles and has an elevation change is 2300’. The west end trailhead is located at 7700’. Map

Burnside Lake Trail

The Burnside Lake Trail is located in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Alpine County, CA. It is a 2 mile connector trail that has an elevation change of 900’.

Indian Creek Recreation Area

Currently closed due to Tamarack fire restoration. The Indian Creek Recreation Area is located on Airport Rd. 2 miles north of Markleeville CA. The land is managed by the BLM and includes a campground and a couple lakes.

Other trails to enjoy include Horsethief Canyon, Woods Lake, and Hope Valley Hike.

Board Members

Andy Lovell

President
Trails Operations Officer

Andy has over 25 years of trail building experience. He and his family moved to Alpine County CA in spring of 1996 where he began building trails on lands adjoining his property to give his young children and wife, who was a teacher, a way to walk to school.  Read more about Andy >

Jim McLain

Vice President

A volunteer since the organization's inception in 2013. He is also a board member of the Friends of Hope Valley since 2018. He has lived in Alpine County since 2010. Jim enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and serving the community in various volunteer activities.

Amy Mecak

Treasurer

Amy and her husband bought land in Alpine County in 2004 with the dream of raising a family and building a home. Their dreams became true when in 2010 they moved here from Truckee with their young son just in time for him to start pre-school. She enjoys hiking with her dog and family on the many trails of Alpine County.

Bill Young

Secretary

A retired engineer who has been a trail user throughout the west for 40 years. After retiring to Markleeville, it was time to repay the efforts of those whose labors built the trails of the Sierra and the west. Bill continues to hike, backpack, raft, kayak and cycle throughout the west. Read more about Bill >

Jim Haen

Community Outreach Director

An avid hiker who has explored every prominence and body of water in Alpine County, Jim was greatly impressed with the construction of the Curtz Lake Interpretative Trail and knew that this was a get things done volunteer organization. Since joining ATA his fondest experience is the years long effort to resurrect and restore the historic Thornburg Canyon Trail. Dogs love him, federal bureaucrats not so much.

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