The Ventana Wilderness Alliance will rehabilitate backcountry trails around spectacular Cone Peak in an ambitious year-long volunteer project. Photo by Richard Popchak.

The Ventana Wilderness Alliance (VWA) in collaboration with the United States Forest Service has kicked off an ambitious year-long project to rehabilitate backcountry trails in the spectacular Cone Peak area of the Los Padres National Forest. The Cone Peak Trails Network Project is an all-volunteer effort to improve access to local rugged wildlands.

The following trails will be rehabilitated:
‒ Vicente Flat trail
‒ Stone Ridge trail
‒ Ojito Camp trail
‒ Gamboa trail
‒ Cone Peak trail
‒ North Coast Ridge trail (from the end of Cone Peak Road to the intersection with the Arroyo Seco trail)
‒ Cook Spring trail
‒ Arroyo Seco trail
‒ Carrizo trail

Volunteers may join the trail crew for all or part of the dates listed below. Call 423-3191 to participate and for future work dates.
April 4-8 - Friday - Tuesday
April 18-22 - Friday - Tuesday

Rain or threat of rain will cancel.

Restoration of these trails will allow people to complete popular loop trips. The VWA Trail Crew has been working on trails in the Ventana and Silver Peak Wilderness areas since 1999. VWA volunteers have contributed over 10,000 hours of trail work in the Ventana Region over the past eight years. Previously, the VWA restored the abandoned 9-mile long Black Cone Trail in the heart of the Ventana Wilderness.

The project is being led by VWA Trail Crew Leader Mike Heard and VWA Trail Crew Chief Dave Knapp.

The Ventana Wilderness Alliance enjoys the full support of the United States Forest Service with this project. The Forest Service is providing training, safety equipment and tools for all VWA trail crew volunteers.

For more information visit www.ventanawild.org.