News

Mescal Trailhead Approved for Funding

Click here for the site plan.

According to the Design Narrative, the development and construction of a trailhead and day use site at the obsolete "burrow" pit off Dry Creek Road just to the south of Dry Creek includes:

• a parking lot for a minimum of 40 spaces, including 2 oversized vehicles, and 2 accessible spaces. No horse trailer parking will be provided as this is available at Fay Trailhead. Site parking will be allocated entirely to small and medium vehicles and transit, in order to maximize trail user capacity.
• a through route in the parking area to allow for visitors to circulate through the site to choose a parking space.
• a large turnout space with capacity to accommodate a trolley or small transit shuttle will be accommodated, for future alternative transit.
• toilet facilities with outdoor recreation accessible routes that connect to the parking lot. 
• a kiosk on site which provides interpretive information on wilderness, land ethics, and orientation. Orient this kiosk to avoid wear and tear from sun exposure.
• strategic fencing around the site to control people and vehicles from accessing undesignated areas. Using native materials, specifically the fencing design that incorporates split juniper and 4-strand smooth wire fencing.
• access to viewing locations as indicated on site plan.
• separate pedestrian and vehicular use with access routes designed for pedestrian use only.
• a closure gate to enable closure as necessary.
• connecting the trailhead parking to non-motorized trails.
• materials that maintain the natural character of the site, which are derived from native sources, are natural-appearing, and maintain the rustic natural character of the site.
• year-round use.
• picnic tables.
• all amenities required by Federal Land Recreation Enhancement Act.

This site is not intended to have specific features for weddings or jeep tours.

Project NEPA was completed in 2015.

VVCC's Summer Highway 89A Cleanup

Saturday August 1^st. 2020 @ 7am – 10am

Meet at Spring Creek Ranch Rd and 89A.

Please Wear: sturdy shoes, gloves and clothes that can get dirty, and bring plenty of water and sunscreen. Unfortunately, due to the COVID19 outbreak, we will not be able to provide refreshments or food after.

Let’s Do Our Part to Keep Our Roads Free of Debris and Visual Pollution and Help Our Environment One Piece of Trash at a Time!

To volunteer for this event contact Shawn Hadley (970) 987-8877 or shawn@shentisport.com

More information at: https://www.vvcc.us/events

Your chance to become an Everyday Hero!

How would you like to help turn this?

Into This!

There's no place on campus for the after-school mountain bike clubs at Mountain View Preparatory (MVP) School in Cottonwood to ride, so the school buses coaches, students, bikes and gear to Dead Horse State Park and back, losing 25% of club time in transit.

The Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District has committed a large land parcel it owns at MVP to create a bike skills park on campus.

MVP students have a varied demographic with a wide range of socioeconomic levels along with a multicultural climate, large attendance boundary, and many students from single parent households or not residing with their biological parents.

Verde Valley Wheel Fun (FUN) has received a grant for preliminary design documents to create this bike skills park at MVP and now's your chance to become an EveryDay Hero and help FUN break ground later this year. This bike skills park will be built "by students for students" as students and equipment from the local vo-tech school, the Valley Academy for Career Technical Education, will be performing the build under supervision by a professional trail building association member firm.

And, until August 7th, your contributions will be matched $ for $ by FUN and set the stage to be doubled again through an Outride Fund Matching Grant!

To donate for this worthy project, click HERE.

For your generosity, you will receive:

• Arizona state income tax credit of up to $400 single/$800 married filing jointly. A tax credit reduces you state income taxes dollar-for-dollar so your contribution comes at no charge to you.
• For 2020 only, you can deduct up to $600 from your income for charitable deductions regardless if you itemize.
• If you itemize, the 60% charitable contribution cap has been waived for 2020, and
• Bike smalls from all 475 students enrolled at MVP!

Thank you!

Trailforks is excited to announce the launch of Trail Karma Month, a campaign to raise awareness and increase funding for trail associations and builders around the world. For the month of July, we’re giving trail users more reason to give back to the trails that we love and enjoy through Trail Karma Month with a chance to win prizes. More so than before, trail associations are spread thin as trail maintenance increases and access to resources decreases. Due to COVID-19, funding is being cut, while more and more people are outside using the trails. There is a large gap between current funding and what is required to build and maintain the trails that bring us so much joy. Which got us thinking... Trailforks provides the best tools to discover, plan, and track any trail adventure. It allows trail associations to manage and grow trail networks to give users the most accurate map information accessible through multiple devices, which is why Trailforks makes contributing to trail organizations quick, accessible, and easy with Trail Karma. To help encourage others to give back, we thought what better than to combine the two and launch Trail Karma Month.

WHAT IS TRAIL KARMA MONTH We believe in the principle of cause and effect; that by supporting trail builders and associations we invest in the future of maintaining and growing the trails. In 2019 alone, Trail Karma raised over US$80,000 for organizations around the world. It provides a direct way for users to put 100% of their donation into trail associations and builders developing trail systems, and Trail Karma Month is our month long celebration where users can give back. We've partnered with some great brands who share our initiative, and are offering up a chance to win some cool prizes along the way. WHEN - JULY 1-30. 2020 We are encouraging everyone around the world to support their favourite trails by donating via Trail Karma in July. Whether you mountain bike, hike, trail run, or even use something with a motor, users can donate to a trail association(s) of your choice between July 1st - 31st. 2020 for a chance to win. A minimum donation of $5 will be required. Trail Karma points will be awarded to a donor via Trailforks; each point will equal one entry. On August 1st. 2020, we will host a random draw for prizing. So imagine a world without trails. Go buy your trail builder a beer. Donate a dollar for every trail you use next week. Now's the time to support your trails. Interested in sharing the message? Check out social assets and imagery here. To learn more, go to our article, www.trailforks.com/karma/drive/ or contact Mark Holloway.

A big thank you to our partners:

Mountain Biking BC Kona Garmin Camelbak Shimano Sierra Nevada DT Swiss SRAM RockShox DMOS Collective Reserve Wheels Salomon Jenson USA

The Red Rock Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest has implemented Stage 2 fire restrictions as of Wednesday (June 3) at 8 a.m. due to warmer weather conditions, fire danger, and for the purpose of public safety.

The rest of Coconino National Forest will continue to be under a modified version of Stage 1 restrictions, which restricts campfires and grills that burn combustible material such as wood and charcoal.

Stage 2 fire restrictions prohibit the following, with some exceptions that can be found in the official Forest Order:

1.       Fires, campfires, charcoal, coal, and wood stoves.

2.       Smoking.

3.       Welding or operating an acetylene or other torch with open flame.

4.       Operating a chainsaw or any other equipment powered by an internal combustion engine from the hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

An explanation of the different stages of fire restrictions and what is typically prohibited during those stages can be found online at www.tinyurl.com/firestagesexplained. The public should be aware that fire restrictions often exist on non-federal land, such as city, county, and state.  For more information about fire restrictions across the entire state, please visit https://firerestrictions.us/az/.

Stage 2 fire restrictions will remain in place on the Red Rock Ranger District until Aug. 1, 2020 or until rescinded, whichever occurs first. Violation of the restrictions on national forests is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment up to six months, or both.

The Catena Foundation today announced that the Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition was awarded a grant in the amount of $102,000. $100,000 of the grant will be used to expedite completion of Phase 2 of the Blowout Wash Project by funding AZ Conservation Corps crews to work on the following project actions: 

• More remote hand-build sections that are not feasible for volunteers, and
• Restoration actions including ground surface stabilization of the hill climb south of the Yavapai College Campus by shortening slope lengths, reducing water flow and trapping sediment through wattle and seeding. 

Work is expected to begin on this project phase in Fall 2020. 

The Blowout Project is a community-driven trails initiative that was conceptualized in 2008 by the City of Cottonwood to provide recreation opportunities to the residents and visitors of Cottonwood, Clarkdale and Jerome in the Verde Ranger District of the Prescott National Forest. The Project will encourage positive stewardship of Forest Service (FS) lands adjacent to these communities that have historically incurred unmanaged recreation, illegal off highway vehicle use, trash dumping and concentrated recreational shooting. 

The Blowout Wash Project is the first of several community trails envisioned as part of the Verde Trails and Access Plan (VTAP). The FS approved the VTAP environmental study in September 2018. The VTAP includes approximately 120 miles of non-motorized and 5 miles of motorized trails within the Verde Ranger District (VRD) of the Prescott National Forest (PNF).

The Project (~27 miles) is a stacked loop system to facilitate opportunities close in (easiest) and farther out (more challenging). The Project does not stand alone as it will be connected to the larger Mingus Mountain Trail System and with the Black Canyon National Recreation Trail. Additionally, the Project connects to the Yavapai College campus and several residential areas in Clarkdale and Cottonwood. 

Two public trailheads, Blowout Wash and Yavapai College Verde Valley Campus, provide access to this system. The Yavapai College trailhead, will include all weather paved parking, restrooms, signage and interpretive trail safety opportunities. 

$2,000 of this grant will be used for VVCC indirect costs associated with the project.

Many thanks to Kevin Adams for his diligent work in making this happen...

May 15 was the date for the reopening for some of the recreation sites, trailheads, and developed campgrounds within the Coconino National Forest. Current status for all sites is listed in alphabetical order on the Coconino Recreation web page, which will be updated whenever a recreation site opens or closes. Regardless of where you decide to recreate, you are responsible for your health and well-being. Do not overcrowd sites, and be sure to take your trash with you to keep the forest clean!

Did You Know?

By: Kevin Adams

President, Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund

Treasurer, Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition

Many VVCCers in the know, know that the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival attracts shedders, spouses, and other assorted characters to Sedona for an extended weekend in March each year and that the Festival is the largest single VVCC annual fundraiser. The past two years, the VVCC and Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund (SRRTF) collaborated on a joint raffle culminating at the. But did you know what role Festival organizer and VVCC sponsor Mike Raney does to help make the VVCC/SRRTF festival fund raising a success?

Mike works with Festival sponsors to provide raffle items and to do their own local trail fundraising at their booths with the SRRTF as the recipient of the latter. Mike also provides premium tent space to both the VVCC and SRRTF at no charge to sell raffle tickets at the event. Mike also turns down dozens of non-profits each year coveting the opportunity to raise funds through the Festival's beer sales, instead setting aside that lucrative opportunity exclusively to the VVCC. 

In 2019, Mike's generosity permitted the VVCC/SRRTF team to raise $24,000 over the three day Festival. This year's combine VVCC/SRRTF Festival proceeds were $26,251.75.

Yes, that's right, over the last two years, the Festival has raised over $50,000 for local trail maintenance and enhancements. And, Mike Raney makes it all possible!

The SRRTF will use the $15,222.00 of this year's combined raffle proceeds for maintenance and enhancements of the non-motorized trails near Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek. The VVCC will use the $11,251.75 in beer/tip proceeds on hiring AZ Conservation Corps youth program workers on Phase 2 of the ~29 mile Blowout Wash Trail System in Cottonwood beginning this fall. 

Mike is the co-owner of Over the Edge Sports in Sedona. When you get a minute, please stop by the shop and let Mike know just how appreciative you are for what he's doing for our trails. Better yet, buy something or a gift certificate and take advantage of specials he offers exclusively to VVCC members.

Thank you Mike! 

The Arizona Office of Tourism has put together recommendations regarding recreation around Arizona during the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can read about it at:  https://tourism.az.gov/responsible-recreation-across-arizona/ and http://tourism.az.gov .

Conner Hunt was one of the original group of bike club students at Oak Creek Elementary. For those coaches who haven't had the opportunity to meet Conner (or his younger brother Nolan), Conner and Nolan really took to the program.  In May 2019, as a rising 7th grader, Conner earned a new bike and the only reason he didn't participate in bike club last fall was because he joined the NICA team and his mom was getting him to practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Conner, Nolan and their older brother Wille have been building bike jumps in their yard.

Unfortunately, Conner's new bike got run over by a car and destroyed late last year. When Principal Nayadin told me about it, we conjured up a scheme where, by performing community service around the school, Conner could earn a replacement bike. The attached video shows his being surprised to receive it. If you listen closely, you can hear Conner say "I though I had to do more..." 

 Conners bike.mp4

So far, 46 new bikes, helmets and locks have been awarded to students in the Cottonwood-Oak Creek Elementary School District and 26 bikes/helmets/locks are on order for Beaver Creek and Camp Verde students who have earned them and will be delivered later this month. With a little luck, over 80 bikes will be awarded this year throughout the Verde Valley.

The Bike Park at Oak Creek Elementary (and Mountain View Academy in Cottonwood) moved another step closer to reality on Wednesday. The Catena Foundation, in conjunction with Progressive Trail Designs (PTD) out of Bentonville, AR, awarded a joint grant/in-kind donation for PTD to work with the schools and FUN on the concept design. We have a kickoff call on Monday. PTD did a site visit in early March and the grant deliverable will be a report on both schools’ proposed bike parks with maps, site plans, estimates, descriptions, etc. The budget estimate will be a rough order of magnitude and the designs will be conceptual. PTD will also provide a budget for more detailed plans and construction documents if necessary. Catena is funding up to $14,500 and Progressive Trail Design is donating up to $10,500 in services for this phase of the project.

Cottonwood-Oak Creek Elementary School Superintendent, Steve King, has agreed to provide the land necessary for these bike parks and has coordinated with Valley Academy for Career & Technology Education (VACTE) Superintendent Robert Wier to commit to having VACTE provide the student labor and heavy equipment for the project as part of VACTE's hands on vocational training offering. We just need to raise $$$ for material and a professional trail builder foreperson and we have been invited to submit a grant application by the Northern Arizona Healthcare Foundation. Keep your fingers crossed and stay tuned!