We're dedicated to promoting, maintaining, and enhancing Oakland's wildland parks and trails.
November 15, 2017
Hello from Oakland Trails!
Two Upcoming Hiking Tours
We've scheduled two free hiking tours for the upcoming holiday week, giving you a great opportunity to explore Oakland parks, and also to show off our parklands to visiting family and friends:
Thanksgiving Day at 9:00am: Join us on a hike from Dimond Park to Joaquin Miller Park, where we'll catch AC Transit Line 339 back down to Dimond. The full hike will be approximately seven miles, though there will be options to catch earlier buses at miles four and five. Click here for details and to register (required).
Friday, November 24 at 1:00pm: Associated with REI's #OptOutside, join us on a stewardship tour of Joaquin Miller Park. Volunteer projects led by Oakland Trails, Friends of Sausal Creek, Friends of Joaquin Miller Park, and the Bicycle Trails Council will be highlighted throughout the 5-mile hiking tour. Click here for details and to register (required).
OPD Resurrects their Mounted Patrol Unit Oakland Trails volunteers, via our Park Patrol program, have begun a partnership in Joaquin Miller Park with OPD's newly reinstated mounted patrol. Our weekly, joint patrols will be geared towards exposing the horses-in-training to new environments, and helping the OPD officers get to know the trail system. Our first patrol on November 10th was a huge success. Park users, young and old, lit up with smiles when encountering the police on horseback. This is a huge win for Joaquin Miller Park, that hasn't had a regular ranger patrol in more than fifteen years!
An Internship Opportunity for Oakland Youth
If you are 16–22 years old and seeking rewarding community service hours in Oakland parks, sign up to experience the outdoors with Oakland Trails. Gain valuable skills interacting with park users, participating in all stages of stewardship projects, and engaging our local government. If you are interested, please fill out the application HERE. Community service hours are sponsored by the Oakland Parks & Recreation Foundation.
Parkland Steward Award from Oakland Public Works
On Thursday, November 2nd, Oakland Public Works hosted their annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner, where leaders of all the Adopt-a-Spots in the City of Oakland are invited to gather for a celebration. A few programs are usually singled out and given an award, and this year, on behalf of Oakland Trails and more than 60 Park Patrol volunteers, I was honored with the Parkland Steward Award. Thank you, Oakland Public Works, and all of our donors and sponsors that help make our work possible. We appreciate your support and collaboration.
From left: Stan, brother Gary, and Oakland Public Works Environmental Services staff Mike and Jen
Follow us on Instagram
If you'd like to stay in touch with our work, including updates about trail conditions and stewardship opportunities in real time, follow us! @oaklandparkpatrol
The willow stakes we planted last month to stabilize the creek bank have already come to life!
#oaklandtrails #stewardship #palosecocreek #paloscoloradostrail #joaquinmillerpark #willows
Getting Ready for Winter
Last winter, the trails took a beating from all that much needed rain. So, throughout this year, we've led many trail projects, including an 80-foot reroute and three trail-stabilizing crib walls on lower Palos Colorados Trail. We've also cleared 211 fallen trees, and improved drainage on miles of trails. Please help us continue to get prepared for this rainy season by making a tax-deductible contribution today. With donation levels as low as $10, you'd be helping our all-volunteer organization get the tools and materials we need to help keep Oakland trails open and safe for all users. Visit OaklandTrails.org/donate.
The newly constructed crib wall on lower Palos Colorados
Doing what we love
Year-to-date, we've logged 2,803 volunteer hours in (and for) Oakland's wildland parks.
Building a crib wall for the reroute on lower Palos Colorados trail.
See you on the trails,
Stan Dodson
Executive Director & Founder, Oakland Trails
Co-founder & Director, Oakland Volunteer Park Patrol
Oakland Trails is an all-volunteer organization supporting Oakland's wildland parks. Learn more at OaklandTrails.org
We'd like to thank our fiscal sponsor, the Oakland Parks & Recreation Foundation.
Donations to Oakland Trails are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
501c3 Tax ID# 94-2751052
Your tax-deductible donation helps us fulfill our mission in Oakland's wildland parks.
