south siskiyou trail stewardship -
a community driven effort

you love trails. So do we.

South Siskiyou Trail Stewardship is a coordinated effort between key agencies, organizations and businesses in South Siskiyou County to bring consistent, quality trail maintenance to our growing network of trails.

The South Siskiyou Trail Stewardship project launched in October 2024 with a focus on planning for and funding a regular stewardship program to maintain and enhance the growing Gateway Trail System.

TRAIL STATUS AND REPORT CONDITIONS FORM

Gateway Trail System Trail Status updates as of
15 October 2024
**Closed trails:**
**• Bear Springs below the railroad tracks (not completed)**
**• all of the trails in the Learning Zone (construction completed, not signed off by Forest Service, anticipated opening late fall 2024)**
**• Magma (under construction, anticipated completion late 2024)**
**• Deadwood (under construction, anticipated completion late 2024)**

**Report a trail issue: click here to report any type of trail issue you’ve encountered on trails in South Siskiyou County**

DONATE TO SUPPORT TRAIL STEWARDSHIP IN SOUTH SISKIYOU

To mitigate the impact of visitor use on local outdoor recreation areas and provide employment opportunities, SORA is forming the Siskiyou Stewardship Corps (SSC).

Siskiyou Stewardship Corps' primary focus will be to promote responsible recreation on private and public lands throughout Siskiyou County. Stewardship work will consist of public outreach and education, trash cleanup, and trailhead/trail maintenance at high-use recreation areas. The education component will focus on promoting responsible use of the natural landscape.

The Siskiyou Stewardship Corps is a program of the nonprofit Siskiyou Outdoor Recreation Alliance (SORA). SORA advocates for opportunities for all to access outdoor recreation and creates meaningful and responsible connections to the trails, mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, and landscapes of the Shasta-Siskiyou region of Northern California.

2025 Trail Stewardship plan and goals

In 2020, Siskiyou County observed a substantial increase in outdoor recreation tourism. Residents, businesses, local governments, and land managers reported that they have never seen local recreation areas as busy and impacted by visitor use as in 2020. While we have seen a steady increase over the last ten years, the Covid-19 pandemic seems to have exacerbated a surge in outdoor recreation.

In August 2020, the Siskiyou Outdoor Recreation Alliance received feedback from Siskiyou County residents concerned about the impact of visitor use on our local recreation areas. This trend motivated the organization to distribute a survey that captured feedback and ideas to help local communities troubleshoot this issue. We presented survey results to local businesses, community members, landowners and managers, and nonprofit organizations, and community groups. We surveyed between August 24, 2020 - September 14, 2020. The results included 518 survey takers and 1,022 written responses. The survey results and feedback at the community presentations indicated strong community support for the idea of developing a local stewardship corps program. SORA used the survey data to guide the research process that informed the project proposal.

OUR CONCERNS

• FIRE.

• Overloaded infrastructure.

• Alienated locals.

• Degraded visitor experience due to frustrated locals, garbage, noise, human waste, aggressive dogs.

• Damage to nature and natural resources.

PROGRAM GOALS

• Ensure Siskiyou County’s outdoor recreation sector of the economy is resilient, vibrant, and supports our community values.

• Foster a resident and visitor culture that demonstrates respect for our community, culture, and environmental stewardship.

• Support collaboration between federal land agencies, local government, nonprofit and user groups to improve management of recreation and natural resources.

• Be proactive in the management of private and public natural and recreation assets to minimize degradation and enhance quality.