Vail Valley Mountain Trails Alliance fundraiser brings in $105,000
The Vail Valley Mountain Trails Alliance recently held its first Trails for all. Trails Forever! fundraiser. With donations exceeding $105,000, the Eagle County-based nonprofit said it is the most significant community investment in local trails to date.
“We’ve watched how our community supports our trails with a significant increase in volunteer trail work and stewardship,” said Ernest Saeger, executive director of the Vail Valley Mountain Trails Alliance. “And to see the support come full circle at the event makes it clear that our community values our local trails. We couldn’t be more grateful for the generosity of our community to support our programs and projects.”
Volunteers continue to be the core of the VVMTA with over 1,100 volunteers putting in over 3,400 hours of trail maintenance, education, and stewardship activities annually. In 2022 alone, the Trail Conservation Crew put in over 5,200 hours performing trail maintenance, building bridges, new trails, putting up trail signage, and clearing over 600 downed trees from our trails. The VVMTA’s newest program Soul Dirt, has already introduced over 600 participants to our trails, with the youngest being 6 and oldest being 84.
“Right now we are seeing great momentum in our valley to support recreation,” said Nicky Asselin, VVMTA’s development and engagement manager. “Trail access and experiences are critical not only for our physical and mental health, but they are the foundation of our quality of life and economic vitality.”
Over the past decade, the VVMTA has advocated for and executed many significant community-driven trail projects. These include the West Avon Preserve, Everkrisp, Minturn Bike Park, reroutes on Cougar Ridge, North Trail, Game Creek, and many more between Eagle and Vail.
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The VVMTA’s mission is to connect the community to the outdoors through sustainable recreation. The VVMTA advocates for soft surface trails, manages trail stewardship programs, maintains and builds trails, coordinates and trains volunteers, educates outdoor recreational users, and creates opportunities to access the outdoors.
