August Trail Day 2026| Advocates for Nisene Marks State Park

August 2026 Trail Day Report

8/16/26

August Trail Day's theme was THANK YOU! Thank you to all our volunteers who put in the time and energy to make the park a more enjoyable place to visit. Thank you to our Board members and Advocate Leaders who volunteer extra time and energy to organize and lead Trail Days. Thank you to Advocate Donors and State Parks for supporting Advocates' mission.

Greetings!

After signing-in, choosing a project from the Project Board and enjoying coffee from Pacific Coffee Roasters, pastries from Companion Bake Shop and fruit from New Leaf, volunteers turned their attention to the day's Trail Captain Gary who provided an invigorating introduction. Afterwards, the group gathered for a photo, Leaders outlined project details to their teams and carpooled into the park.

Hit the Trails!

Here is how we improved the forest and made a difference with our efforts.

Our projects this month included:

Led by Jim & Chris, the team brushed-back English ivy on the Advocate Trail and cut-back vegetation encroaching on the Advocate Tree. Visitors can now more easily get to and see the the legendary Advocate Tree up close.
Mikhail led a crew to the lower seasonal bridge where they fixed a sagging post that had destabilized the bridge. It looks great now! Afterwards, the team brushed-back the Split Stuff Trail. Amazing what a team can do together!
On the upper Oak Ridge Trail, Brett led his group on an uphill hike to the apex of the trail and then continued on the downhill to brushback heavy vegetation and poison oak to make hiking safer and more enjoyable for park visitors. Due to Oak Ridge's microclimate and sun exposure, plants quickly encroach the trail so maintenance on Oak Ridge is an ongoing need. Thanks Oak Ridge Team!
Andrea led a team that cleared drainage culverts in the lower park. Open culverts are critical components during the rainy season to channel water away from the fire road and trails. This was back-breaking but super important work for the park and thank you to the Culvert Team!
Led by John, Susan and Teresa M, the Ivy Team continued to remove invasive English ivy from trees and forest floor on the Old Growth Loop Trail. Our 15 adventurous volunteers "Billy goated" up steeper terrain to attack a carpet of ivy seedlings and tree ivy. The energetic crew cleared 880 sq ft of ivy and freed numerous trees from their ivy bonds!
Joe's team removed, cleaned, adjusted and reinstalled the remaining half of the original (but loose) two-track decking material on Margaret's Bridge. The bridge is once again safe for all to hike and bike across. Thanks to the dedicated team led by Joe!
Gary and Gilbert's crew dismantled the tree-damaged picnic table and loaded the parts in Gilbert's truck. They also removed 4 cement table anchors from the picnic area (6 counting the ones from the dismantled table) and put them alongside the road to be hauled away. We estimated that each anchor/foundation weighed at least 100 pounds! The team then hiked the Porter Trail and brushed-back encroaching vegetation.