Photographer Bart Smith, along with authors William Sullivan and Craig Romano led us through the PNW’s most special hiking experiences on November 22nd, but you can still take advantage of this special deal. Click the button below to & donate $75 or more to receive a copy of the book + a one year TKO membership!
Waterfalls throughout our landscape are as iconic as the Douglas fir tree. We celebrate them with great fanfare as a quintessential outdoor highlight to be sought after, connected to and protected. Trails connecting to these scenic sites are in constant need of keepers to tend to their care.
Silver Falls State Park is the flagship of the Oregon State Parks system and a waterfall alley all on its own. We began forging our relationships with the trails and the rangers there in 2019 and we have come a long way! We began by building a cohort of volunteer leaders in the Willamette valley who have helped us to begin to steadily drum a beat of stewardship in the the region. TKO volunteers have come together on a variety of projects at Silver Falls including building a crib wall to shore up part of the Canyon Trail that was being eroded, installing gabions to correct trail erosion from drainage and even began work on a brand new trail! We hope to have this new trails completed for the park’s centennial celebration.
TKO has been a nonprofit for just over 12 years. We are Portland-based, but that is now changing and we are growing our geographic reach. Oregon State Parks has been a gateway for our growth, taking our strong partnerships with parks in the Portland/Gorge region and letting that trust spread to other parks. With strong relationships to precede us, stewardship growth can only happen through recruiting and training more volunteer leaders. The only reason we are able to start in at Silver Falls is because local leaders stepped up to the challenge and because of TKO’s strong relationships with park staff who are confident in our work. Help us impact even more trails in more State Parks, become a Legacy Builder today.
Urban trails are a cornerstone to nature access for urban and suburban residents, offering countless physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health benefits. TKO has been busy throughout the Portland Metro Area and beyond in 2023 ensuring that these trails can continue to safely connect communities with the outdoors!
Throughout 2023 TKO has been lucky to participate in some outstanding trail projects in the Willamette and Umpqua River Valleys. These projects, critical to maintaining and reopening trails, allowed volunteers to grow their trail construction skills in some of Oregon’s most beautiful natural areas!
Have you caught the “saw bug” yet? Join TKO on a logout and you just might! This draw to saw work, the itch to feel the saw interact with wood as you cut, captivates many a trail crew member after just one day pulling saw. Saw work is a critical aspect of trail stewardship, and it’s this feeling that TKO has worked to inspire in emerging sawyers across Oregon.
Trailkeepers of Oregon
P.O. Box 14814
Portland, OR 97293
(971) 206-4351