Volunteers will meet Saturday at Hollister Hills State Vehicular
Recreation Area to perform maintenance on hiking and bicycling
trails to increase safety.
Volunteers will meet Saturday at Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area to perform maintenance on hiking and bicycling trails to increase safety.
“People like to use these trails and sometimes, they’re too dangerous, too deep,” said Brian Lucas, event organizer and owner of Off The Chain bicycle shop. “The trails get run down. At some places, it’s impossible for average riders to make it through.”
Volunteers will work from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and end with a barbecue lunch hosted by Off The Chain.
Last fall, a group of volunteers with Lucas cleaned the trails, clearing away poison oak.
Lucas is trying to drum up as much support as possible, including approaching his customers to join in. The more people present, the more that will get done, he said.
Hollister Hills SVRA Chief Ranger Steve Michel is thankful for the volunteers.
“We’re short of staff right now. The state is in hiring freeze right now,” he said. “The trails will be better to use and safer. … It’s good because it gets people in the community involved in the park so they understand what we’re about.”
The trails are called “natural area” because no motor vehicles are allowed. The five hiking trails range in distance from one-fourth to two or three miles, Michel said.
Volunteers should wear pants, long-sleeved shirts, gloves and a hat. They should not wear open-toed shoes and they should bring drinking water. Volunteers will meet at the Hollister Hills Ranger Station at 9 a.m. Saturday.
For more information, call Lucas at 636-0802. For more information on Hollister Hills SVRA, call 637-3874.
