Give back to hiking trails! 

Get to work in an awe-inspiring place! This year National Trails Day will be held out at Steven's Camp, north of High Rock Canyon and the Black Rock Desert. The work will include maintaining the Upper High Rock Canyon Trail, maintaining the public-use cabin, and repairing a section of High Rock Canyon damaged by vehicle travel. Trail maintenance helps keep a trail open and available to the public while minimizing damage to its fragile environment. The work involves cutting back overgrown brush, sawing fallen trees to remove them from the trail, and creating a safe durable surface to hike on. Friends of Nevada Wilderness will provide all the training, safety equipment, and trail maintenance tools needed to get the job done. We'd love to see you at National Trails Day to help maintain this beautiful area. 

About Steven's Camp and the Upper High Rock Canyon Area

Steven's Camp is located on the north side of High Rock Canyon Wilderness and High Rock Canyon Area of Critical Environmental Concern. Steven's Camp Recreation Area has a public-use cabin available for visitors on a first-come, first-serve basis. It is located in a unique area surrounded by desert rims and vistas with large meadows. Another cool feature of the area is The Applegate Lassen Emigrant Trail which goes through High Rock Canyon and was used by thousands of Emigrants and their wagons starting in 1848. The journey through was often slow and arduous, fraught with risks from infectious diseases, dehydration, malnutrition, injury, and harsh weather. Who knows, maybe some ruts of the trail can still be observed in this area?

Read about the High Rock Canyon Wilderness here!

Check out some photos from our 2023 National Trail Day at Steven's Camp on our Flickr here!

Information:

Difficulty: Easy! See our difficulty rating scale here.  This project is suitable for a wide range of physical abilities. It’s great for individuals new to volunteer conservation work. Appropriate for children over 12 years old with a parent or guardian.

Location: Steven's Camp, north of High Rock Canyon and the Black Rock Desert

Dates: Friday, May 31st - Sunday, June 2nd

Travel: Leave Reno at 12 pm on Friday, returning Sunday afternoon. Most cars should be fine, Higher Clearance and 4WD are recommended to reach the campsite (one small creek crossing near the campsite). A limited number of spots are available in Friends trucks to transport volunteers and carpooling is also an option. 

Food: Breakfast with coffee on Saturday and Sunday and big group dinners and dessert will be provided!

Gear/Clothing: Long sleeves, long pants, sturdy work or hiking shoes. Camping equipment: tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad. Camping gear available for loan. Suggested Packing List  

More Details: In-depth information such as camping location, weather, and project specifics will be sent to those who RSVP about 1 week before the project.

Questions?: Check out our FAQ page or email [email protected]

RSVP is required to participate.

Friends of Nevada Wilderness and our partners put a great deal of time and resources into organizing volunteer projects. When you RSVP you are committing to join us on that project. We understand circumstances may arise where you need to cancel. So, if you’re no longer able to attend, please cancel your RSVP as soon as possible so another volunteer can join the project. You can cancel your RSVP through the cancellation link in your project confirmation email or by emailing [email protected].