In December 2022, winter storms brought down over 600 trees across Skyline Drive, closing the park for nearly two months. Volunteer crews joined park staff in a massive effort to reopen the Drive, and we asked donors to help us raise emergency funds to provide meals for them. Many of our donors answered the call, and we provided 245 meals for park staff and volunteers.
This inspired one donor to give a generous $20,000 gift, which inspired us to create the Trails Forever Fund.
You can protect the outdoor experience that is at the heart of the Shenandoah with a gift to the Trails Forever program. Your donation will maintain, revitalize, and ensure that trails can be reopened when weather strikes.
The Trails Forever initiative will:
- Maintain many of the 500 miles of trails in Shenandoah National Park
- Restore and rehab highly degraded trails in the park
- Enhance educational resources, including informational panels and signs along trails
- Provide responsive funding for trail reopening from weather related closures
- Engage volunteers and youth conservation crews to complete the work in the field
