Gear UP
Know Before You Go
Schedule
Corpsmembers may work variable schedules depending on projects, typically working four 10-hour days Monday to Thursday.
Emergencies
Corpsmembers must be willing to respond to emergencies and be dispatched for lengthy periods of time with little or no notice.
Eligibility
There is no prior experience required or additional eligibility requirements, aside from our standard program eligibility, to serve on these crews.
Find Your Path
Kai Cortez
Trail Worker
National Park Service
“The CCC set me on the path of conservation,” said Kai Cortez. “It helped me understand that a career exists for someone like me.”
Wanting to be outdoors and work with his hands, Kai joined the CCC San Diego Center then CCC Backcountry. Working for five months in the Big Basin and Inyo Wilderness, he fell in love with all things trails! Now he’s even got a job doing trail work in Grand Canyon National Park.
“My favorite memory was the people I met along the way,” Kai said about his Path to Success. “It was an unparalleled feeling to grow together with close friends and witness each other’s transformations in real time.”
Kai Cortez
Sunny Caim
Senior Maintenance Aide
California State Parks
In 2023, Sunny Caim embarked on a five-month journey off-grid with CCC Backcountry Trails Program, constructing trails far from her hometown of Long Beach.
“The CCC built my skill set and widened my network,” she said. “It also helped me gain more self-confidence and assurance of my capabilities.” Once on the CCC Path to Success, there was no stopping her.
Now, Sunny — who served at the CCC Los Angeles Center — proudly serves as a Senior Maintenance Aide with California State Parks, where she continues her work in trail construction and maintenance.
For those thinking of joining the CCC she says, “You have nothing to lose joining a program that is designed to help young adults grow.”
Sunny Caim
Marisol Santiago
Backcountry/Front Country Trails Lead
Montana Conservation Corps
When we say the CCC can Transform Your Life, we mean it. CCC Santa Maria Corpsmember Marisol Santiago lived it. “The CCC completely changed my life for the better,” she said. “I found a version of myself here that I thought I could never attain and with my new sense of confidence I hope to make a positive impact on the new people I meet in the conservation industry.”
You could say Marisol is playing a game of follow the leader. Inspired by her Conservationist 1s and CCC Backcountry supervisors in the CCC, Marisol is now leading a trails crew of her own with the Montana Conservation Corps.
“I met incredible leads who inspired my love for the outdoors and inspired my love to teach young adults about conservation,” Marisol said. “I love helping others and hope to continue making a positive impact on those around me.” She’s building pathways and a #CCCPathtoSuccess for herself and others.
Marisol Santiago
Jackson Cooper
Senior Maintenance Aide
California State Parks
A year in the CCC, can make a world of difference. For Jackson Cooper, the CCC Delta Center allowed him to build great friendships, and learn new things, not just work related but about himself too.
“The CCC taught me skills that I did not realize at the time would later help me on my path to success,” Jackson said. “I learned how to run a chain saw and become a sawyer, I learned how to do all types of trail work from ADA compliant trails to making stair steps out of rock. All of these skills I use in my job now and I wouldn’t have had the experience without the CCC.”
Jackson is now a Senior Maintenance Aide with California State Parks in the Santa Cruz Unit. We think he sums up the opportunities in the CCC pretty well, “the CCC is a great steppingstone into a career.”
Jackson Cooper
Explore our locations
At 20 locations across California, CCC Corpsmembers can work on trails project.
Two locations — the Delta Center and Inland Empire Center — have a dedicated year-round trail crew working with State Parks.
This training and project type is offered at all CCC centers except for the Camarillo, Los Piños, Magalia, and Vista locations.
Chico Center
The Camarillo Center has three crews that may complete Trails projects. As many as 45 Corpsmembers serve on these crews.
Delta Center
The Delta Center hosts one of two year-round dedicated State Parks trail crews. The Delta 6 trail crew works on State Parks projects across California and primarily spikes to complete its project work. A maximum of 15 Corpsmembers are assigned to this crew.
Three other Delta crews may also complete Trails projects.
Fortuna Center
Three Fortuna Center crews may complete Trails projects. As many as 45 Corpsmembers serve on these crews.
Fresno Center
Three crews may complete Trails projects. As many as 35 Corpsmembers serve on these crews.
Inland Empire Center
The Inland Empire Center hosts one of two year-round dedicated State Parks trail crews. The Delta 6 trail crew works on State Parks projects across California and primarily spikes to complete its project work. A maximum of 15 Corpsmembers are assigned to this crew.
Four other Inland Empire crews may also complete Trails projects.
Los Angeles Center
Three Los Angeles Center crews may complete Trails projects. As many as 45 Corpsmembers serve on these crews.
Los Padres Center
Three Los Padres Center crews may complete Trails projects. As many as 45 Corpsmembers serve on these crews.
Mendocino Center
Three Mendocino Center crews may complete Trails projects. As many as 45 Corpsmembers serve on these crews.
Monterey Bay Center
Two Monterey Bay Center crews may complete Trails projects. As many as 45 Corpsmembers serve on these crews.
Norwalk Center
One Norwalk Center crew may complete Trails projects. As many as 15 Corpsmembers serve on this crew.
Pomona Center
Four Pomona Center crews may complete Trails projects. As many as 60 Corpsmembers serve on these crews.
Placer Center
Five Placer Center crews may complete Trails projects. As many as 65 Corpsmembers serve on these crews.
Redding Center
Three Redding Center crews may complete Trails projects. As many as 45 Corpsmembers serve on these crews.
Sacramento Center
Four crews may complete Trails projects. As many as 45 Corpsmembers serve on these crews.
Santa Maria Center
One Santa Maria Center crew may complete Trails projects. As many as 15 Corpsmembers serve on this crew.
San Diego Center
Four San Diego Center crews may complete Trails projects. As many as 60 Corpsmembers serve on these crews.
Salinas Center
One Salinas Center crew may complete Trails projects. As many as 15 Corpsmembers serve on this crew.
Siskiyou Center
One Siskiyou Center crew may complete Trails projects. As many as 15 Corpsmembers serve on this crew.
Tahoe Center
Three Tahoe Center crews may complete Trails projects. As many as 45 Corpsmembers serve on these crews.
Solano Center
Two Solano Center crews may complete Trails projects. As many as 30 Corpsmembers serve on these crews.
Ask Us Anything
Talk to A Recruiter
How can I immediately join a trail crew?
Talk to your Recruiter about your interst in trail work. The best pathway to joining a dedicated trail crew is to enroll at the Delta or Inland Empire centers. If the centers have immediate openings on the trail crew, you may be able to immediatley join it.
What if the center I want to go to doesn't have a dedicated trail crew?
While only two centers have dedicated year-round trail crews, most CCC centers have trail projects throughout the year. While specific project work is never guaranteed, be sure to let your supervisors at your center know that you are intersted in trail work if and when such projects are scheduled.
Additionally, you may be interested in exploring the Backcountry Trails Program. This program is available for all CCC Corpsmembers, regardless of experience, to apply for and will give you a significant amount of trails experience if selected.
Do I need to have prior experience?
No prior experience in trail work is required. The CCC will train and teach you all you need to know as you help us complete trail projects across the state.
What kind of jobs can I get from this training?
Working on trails with the CCC can lead directly to careers building and maintaining trails with California State Parks, U.S. Forest Service, and/or National Park Service.
With the Statewide Trails Program, Corpsmembers will see a unique level of sponsor involvement and Corpsmembers are consistently recruited from the CCC for full time positions with California State Parks and its statewide trails crews.
You can explore some of these positions on our Career Pathways page.
REad Our NEws
It’s a job that rocks — literally — and CCC Delta Corpsmembers are seeing the possibilities of a career with California State Parks.
Another season of the CCC Backcountry Trails Program is in the books.
Siskiyou Corpsmembers explore the great outdoors during a spike, while improving access to trails for others.
Corpsmembers take pride in the hard work they do across California. For our San Diego Center Corpsmembers, that pride comes from making trails safer for the public to travel and experience at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park.