News

The Augusta Canal Trail is ready for fall! A fantastic team of volunteers came out to mow, trim and tidy things up for one last big maintenance push before the season changes. Our Augusta Canal Trail Champions, John Pilcher and Drew Jordan, work hard to keep this urban gem in great shape. If you haven’t joined the Wednesday night ride from Andy Jordan’s Bicycle Warehouse, be sure to check it out. It’s a great way to experience the trail with a group and see if it’s a ride you’d enjoy! https://www.andyjordans.com/pages/events/ A big thank-you to the Sunday Bike Club for…

We rounded up the perfect team of bikers, runners and hikers today to get the annual foliage work done on the portion of the Rock Dam Trail that is open. The team at Mistletoe State Park has also been working hard to keep the Cliatt Creek Trail mowed and trimmed. Thankfully, cooler temperatures and overcast skies made for much more pleasant working conditions today! And we have some exciting news about the final 3 miles of Rock Dam Trail! We have the go-ahead to cut and clear the remaining Hurricane Helene damage from that section. The logging that had originally been…

We’re heading out to Mistletoe State Park next Saturday for some summer foliage cutting! Because these are outlying trails, it can sometimes be a little harder to get enough volunteers out there—but keeping these trails maintained is important, especially while we continue working toward getting the entire Rock Dam Trail fully open. Since it is not completely open yet, we want to keep the sections that are open clear, rideable, runnable and hikeable so we can keep wheels and feet on the trail and keep the tread viable. So sign up if you can and come help us knock back…

Wow. Our trail community really came through! On Wednesday, we were concerned we might have to pick a side of Big Rock Trail and only cut and trim half of it. We had just seven volunteers signed up. But then our awesome trail community rallied! People set aside their Saturday plans, showed up, and went to work. And what a difference it made! Not only did we get Big Rock Trail completely finished, but we also had a DR mower retrim the top of Tower Trail. That section was cut just before Tower Trail reopened following Hurricane Helene, but that…

Yes, it was hot. Yes, it was humid. 🥵 But everyone was out of the woods before the temperature hit 90°, and what an AMAZING work party it was! We had hoped to attract enough volunteers to run 3 DR mowers, 2 string trimmers and loppers. Instead, we had the largest volunteer turnout EVER for Deep Step Trail! And a really cool part? Three generations of the Tritz family came out together and worked on more than a mile of trail. Now THAT is some amazing trail stewardship! We had an incredible mix of experienced and brand-new volunteers, and just…

What a great day on the Keg Creek Trail! The Part 1 work party knocked out a lot of ground, but with 9 miles of trail to maintain, we’re not quite halfway there. Part 2 is this Saturday, August 8, and right now we only have about half the volunteers we need to complete the annual foliage maintenance. If you’ve ever enjoyed riding, running, or hiking Keg Creek, this is a great opportunity to give back. A huge thank you to these trail warriors who tackled the back side of Keg Creek today with 3 DR mowers and 2 string…

What an amazing work party on Keg Creek today! It’s not often that we get a full crew on one of our outlying trails, but today we had every volunteer we needed! Coupled with Wednesday’s work party, we’ve made incredible progress. The entire trail has now been cut and trimmed, with just a few finishing touches left. We’re especially thrilled that so many Keg Creek fans came out today to lend a hand. Keg Creek is truly one of the most scenic trails along the lake, and thanks to this crew, it’s looking better and better for everyone who enjoys…

What a fantastic day on Skinny Trail!A total of 25 incredible volunteers came together with 4 DR mowers, 5 string trimmers, 1 hedger, countless loppers, and a rake to knock out the summer foliage and get Skinny Trail back into shape. Foliage maintenance is about much more than making the trail look nice. One of the most important goals is cutting back saplings and vegetation that grow in the trail corridor. If left unchecked, the corridor becomes narrower, sight lines disappear, and the trail becomes less enjoyable (and less safe) for everyone who rides, runs, or hikes it. Thanks to…

What a great day on the Brown Wave Trail! We had only 3 people signed up by midweek, but after another call for help, 21 volunteers signed up and showed up ready to work. Even better, there was a great mix of mountain bikers, runners, and hikers working side by side. One volunteer lives in Orlando but comes up to ride FATS from time to time. We certainly don’t expect our out of town visitors to jump in on trail work. But he will be in the area for a little while so we were happy to put him to…

Twenty-four volunteers tackled Great Wall Trail this morning, kicking off our summer foliage maintenance season in a big way. At seven miles long, Great Wall is the longest trail in the FATS system, so it’s no small task.Armed with 3 DR mowers and 7 string trimmers, our crew worked their way down sections of the trail, clearing back the summer growth. We have a few small touch-up items that will be wrapped up this week, but today’s work completed the vast majority of the project. A special welcome to our first-time volunteers. We hope this was the first of many…

Most of our large foliage maintenance work parties are held on Saturdays, but since we’ll be working with a youth group on Saturday, July 11th, we’re moving this one to Sunday, July 12th. Summer foliage season is here! With increased sunlight from the loss of canopy and rain over the last month, the foliage is growing into the trails at an incredible pace. We’ll be tackling Great Wall Trail and are looking for approximately 16 volunteers to help keep it usable and enjoyable for all trail users. If you’ve ever said, “I wish your work parties were on Sundays,” this is your chance! If you can help, please reach…

What a phenomenal day on the trail with a true dream team of volunteers. They were absolutely on fire. While many of today’s volunteers have years of trail-building and trail-maintenance experience, we were also excited to welcome a new volunteer to the crew. We intentionally saved two of the hardest-hit sections of Tower Trail for this week when we knew we would have plenty of talent on hand. Both sections are now complete. Today, teams spread out across the forest and knocked out 16 projects. These weren’t easy projects either. By the end of the day, every project on today’s…

The progress keeps rolling! We had a great crew out working a section of Tower Trail this morning and the team knocked out 13 projects before lunch. One of the biggest challenges of the day was a massive pine rootball that took well over an hour to cut free and send down the hill. That thing still had huge roots attached and it absolutely did not want to let go. Huge thanks to this awesome rootball crew. When you’ve got a couple of rootball kings on the job, things start moving fast! John Pilcher Paul Farrow Gabe Hoffman Magnus Hemm…

Great progress to share! The final section of Tower Trail has officially been mowed, which means we’re so close to shifting gears. As soon as Big Rock Trail wraps up (and we’re nearly there!), we’ll be making a full-court press on Tower Trail. This trail is now fully prepped and ready for the next phase—trees cut and cleared✔️, corridor work complete ✔️, DR mowing complete ✔️, and project areas identified ✔️. Next up: rootball repair and tread work! A huge thank you to today’s trail heroes—John Pilcher, Nancy Downard, and Angela Allen—for bringing this phase across the finish line. We’ll…

What a day out on Tower Trail! After 5 solid hours of hard work, the team successfully cleared the remainder of the corridor—a huge milestone that now allows the DR mower crew to complete the prep the trail for our rootball/tread teams to follow. This is how progress happens—step by step, crew by crew. A big thank you to two of our top USFS-certified sawyers, supported by a strong safety lead, who powered through a tough day: • John Pilcher • Miles St. Peter • Angela Allen This was no easy effort. The day started in the mid-40s and climbed into the 60s,…

The crews out there today—led by Ed Farnell and Paul Farrow—were absolutely on fire. 🔥 In one strong morning push, they knocked out 40 projects on that section of trail. Let that sink in for a second…that’s not just progress—that’s serious momentum. Huge thanks to our rootball kings and trail warriors who showed up ready to work and didn’t let up. This is what dedication looks like. We even had a volunteer come all the way from Columbia, SC just to lend a hand—he loves riding FATS and wanted to give back. That kind of passion says everything about this…

What started as a planned small but mighty effort turned into something even better… A couple of volunteers with a DR mower quickly grew into a crew of five, rolling in with two DR mowers and getting after it in a big way. Even better? Three additional volunteers reached out looking for trail work this weekend—so we expanded the mission and got it done. Now that’s how it’s done. Huge thanks to these trail heroes for showing up and putting in the work as temps climbed from a cool 61° to a warm 69°:• Miles St. Peter• Todd Snider• Erica…