News and Events

Come out for a free midwinter Bird Walk on the River Fork Ranch.  There are 50+ species that reside in the Genoa area during the winter and we will find some of them. There will be Canada Geese and ducks like the Mallard, Gadwall, Ring neck, Green wing Teal, or Common Merganser and Coots. Other wetland birds are the Great Blue Heron, Sand Hill Crane, and Greater Yellowlegs. Bald Eagles, Red-tailed, Red-shouldered hawks, N. Harrier and Kestrel will represent the Raptors. Flickers,  Magpies, Bewick’s wrens, Swallows, House and Goldfinches and the Blackbirds make up some of the others. Join Judy Larquier and Jim Woods for a 2 mi. hike and a bunch of fun.

Click here for more information and to register.

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The James Lee Loops trail project was recently approved by the USFS in February. At roughly 3.7 miles in length, these loops will provide several flat loop opportunities in the vicinity of Jacks Valley Elementary School and James Lee Park. Hikers, dog walkers, bikers and equestrians will be able to choose variable trail loops as short as 1.5 miles, or longer loops of 3 or more miles. When used in combination with the Jacks Valley Loop and Clear Creek Trail, over 10 miles can be traversed with almost no overlap in this area of Jacks Valley. Trail work will begin as the snow retreats this spring. If you would like to help with this project and ongoing maintenance on all of our trails in Carson Valley, contact us at Contact CVTA – Carson Valley Trails Association

A MESSAGE FROM CVTA PRESIDENT NEAL FALK
FEBRUARY 10, 2022
 

 
The photo above was one of the first I had taken early one morning along the River Fork Ranch Trail shortly following our move to the valley from South Florida. Although I have returned to that exact spot countless times, I have not been able to recapture that image. It’s a vivid example of why taking a moment to get out and explore our Carson Valley trails is so special to me. 
 
This year is my second as Carson Valley Trails Association (CVTA) President. Volunteering my time and service has been and continues to be a pleasure. CVTA’s mission is Connecting People to the Outdoors Through a System of Trails. We’re proud to say that our trails now total more than 54 miles. Is our mission fulfilled? We think not. Just as our community in the Carson Valley is expanding, so must we.
 
CVTA has begun an expansion project for the Clear Creek trail system. The effort is spearheaded by our VP of Trails Operations Jeremy Vlcan and our amazing team of volunteers. When complete, their efforts will yield an additional eight (8) miles of scenic, sustainable, and fun to walk/ride trail! This trail system, like most other CVTA trails, is built and maintained on public lands managed by governmental agencies such as the United States Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. For the Clear Creek Trail expansion, it has taken 8 years to achieve final government approval.
 
If our Carson Valley community desires more open spaces, more access to public land, and more trails for hiking, biking and equestrian riding, then our organization must continue to grow. This requires us to expand upon our CVTA donor, membership and volunteer base as well as collaboration with other like-minded organizations and businesses. If we merely maintain the status quo while the community around us grows, our voice may not necessarily be representative for the community, and we run the risk of perhaps being misconstrued as just a very nice club.
 
This past year, I have spent substantial time collaborating with many of our not-for-profit community peers. Jan Vandermade, Executive Director of the Carson Valley Visitors Authority; Jen Nalder, Executive Director of Main Street Gardnerville; Morgan Steel, Executive Director of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association (TRTA); Lynda McDowell, the very first Executive Director of TRTA; and Duane Petite, former Project Director of The Nature Conservancy have all volunteered countless hours of their time while sharing ideas, past experiences and guidance. Similarly, several of our CVTA board members regularly attend other organizations’ meetings and activities such as the Eastern Sierra Trails Coalition with the purpose of fostering collaboration and advancing CVTA’s mission.
 
Our CVTA board recently formed an Emeritus Program to honor and celebrate exceptional past board members for their high achievements and years of service. I am pleased to announce that Mary Bennington, Lorilyn Chitwood, and Barbara Slade are our first inductees into the program. Each of them played a critical role in the development of CVTA’s earlier trails. I look forward to meeting with them and discussing CVTA’s future.
 
CVTA has taken large strides this past year to lay the foundation for future growth. I thank you all for your continuing support!