Friends of the Inyo leads a variety of volunteer opportunities from short events to multi-day wilderness stewardship. 

• Wilderness Weeks (Multi-Day Volunteering Opportunities). Every year, Friends of the Inyo partners with our U.S. National Forest partners to take volunteers into the backcountry wilderness to maintain trails, restore campsites, dismantle and clear out obsolete cattle fencing, and more. Wilderness projects take place in scenic, remote locations throughout the high country. In past years we’ve traveled to Fourth Recess Lake, Humphreys Basin, Shadow Creek, and Cottonwood Creek.
• Clean Up Events (Half-Day Volunteering Opportunities). Annual clean up events include June Lake trails day, Adopt-a-Crag events in climbing areas, and National Public lands day projects.
• Direct Service Projects. (Half-Day Volunteering Opportunities.) Various direct service projects help the community give back while supporting our policy campaigns for permanent protection. Examples include helping with standardized wilderness assessment surveys or repairing fencing to protect Cottonwood Creek and the Bodie Hills. 

Find volunteer opportunities when they are available by visiting our events calendar. There you will find the particulars about each volunteering opportunity, where to meet, what to bring, etc., and will be able to fill out a sign-up form for whatever volunteer event calls out to you. 

Ongoing Volunteering Opportunity: Help the Inyo National Forest Gather Data

The Inyo National Forest needs data – and everyday hikers can help! If you’re hiking any of the sections listed below for 4 hours or more, share your observations and help us protect these special places. Simply tally the number of people you see and send the date, trail section, and tally number to stewardship@friendsoftheinyo.org.

South Sierra

• PCT, South Sierra South – from Kennedy Meadows wilderness boundary to Clover Meadow
• PCT, Suth Sierra North – from Clover Meadow to the Golden Trout Wilderness boundary
• Olancha Pass – from the wilderness boundary to the PCT

Inyo Mountains

• Seep Hole Spring – off Mazourka Canyon Road, from the wilderness boundary to the end of the trail
• Tamarack Canyon – off Mazourka Canyon Road, from the wilderness boundary to the end of the trail

Boundary Peak 

• Boundary Peak Route – the user-created trail from Queen Canyon to the summit of Boundary peak
• Trail Canyon – from the wilderness boundary to the end of the system trail

Hoover

• Lundy Canyon – from the wilderness boundary to the end of the maintained trail
• Gardisky Lake Trail – from the wilderness boundary to the end of the trail
• 20 Lakes Basin Loop – from the wilderness boundary, the whole loop (not including the trail around Saddlebag Lake)

Thank you!