From bike parks to bridges, from skinnies to sustainable drainage. Is there anything this crew can’t handle? As we look back on the Trail Conservation Crew’s 2025 season, I’m amazed at the breadth of work this crew is capable of.
The TCC will be entering its sixth season in 2026 and this crew no longer feels like something we’re working to build, it feels like a well established, well oiled, trail maintenance and construction machine. In a community that values trails as much as we do here in Eagle County this crew now feels less like a “nice to have” and more like an essential part of the community somewhere in the lineup with the likes of CDOT, Core Transit or a town public works department. I feel like our community and our municipalities have recognized this fact also, and it is thanks to continued support from you all that this crew is able to be a reality.
This year we were extremely grateful to have our fearless crew leaders Bay Stephens and Sam Champ back for their fourth season. These guys are amazing, and are the core of our TCC. Bay is a ski patroller at Beaver Creek in the winter months, while Sam splits his time cooking, working with the adaptive ski program in Vail, and going to school for a degree in ecosystems stewardship science. We were also fortunate to have Myles Mitz return to the TCC after a 2 year hiatus. Our new crew members for the season were Erynn O’Brien, Hayden Rogers, and Noah Ejnes making a total of six.
The crew spent the season from May to October covering trail projects from Vail Pass to Gypsum. Some of the highlights included…
- Clearing 128 downed trees from trails
- Maintaining 130+ miles on 30+ different trails
- Constructing a new skills area at the Minturn Bike Park
- Building a new hiking trail from scratch in Arrowhead
- Reestablishing and revitalizing some lesser used trails in the Gypsum area; Lost Lake and Muckey Lake
- Working with the USFS to rebuild a worn out bridge on the Half Nelson trail and supporting a new bridge on Missouri Lakes trail
- Building a ford across the piney river to improve the Lost Lake – Piney Connector trail
- Meadow Mountain signage project installing new maps at 7 locations around Meadow Mountain
- Eagle area trail maintenance including repping the Haymaker trail for the high school xc races
- EagleVail trail extension corridor clearing and technical trail construction
While the work itself is gratifying, some of the crew’s favorite moments are at our events when the crew who usually spends their days in quiet solitude gets a bit of face time with the wonderful community they serve. It’s so great to crawl out of the woods and see all the happy faces that support the work they’re doing. Knowing how much you all appreciate the work that’s being done out there makes the hot days a little cooler, and dusty ones a little less dusty.
As our federal land management partners continue to face challenging budget cuts we are grateful to be able to help as much as possible filing in the gaps to make sure that our public lands receive the care and attention they deserve.
Looking to 2026 we are excited to growing the stewardship work of our crew and building out our new shop in Edwards to have an amazing headquarters to start and end our days at. We can’t thank you all enough for the ongoing support that you offer this crew, and we look forward to another amazing season of caring for one of our counties most valued assets, our trails!
