Volunteer With Us
Why Become a Volunteer?
View Upcoming Volunteer Events on Meetup Join PATC's Executive Committee
- PATC volunteering keeps federal and state wild areas open and safer for public access. PATC maintains over 1000 miles of trails including 240 miles of the Appalachian Trail and 40 shelters.
- PATC promotes conservation and protection of wild areas, including advocacy, training and organized responses to severe weather events.
- PATC is a well-respected nonprofit organization with 8000+ members and over 1000 active volunteers.
We have volunteer opportunities in the following categories. Please read through each description and decide which ones may be a good fit before applying.
The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club plays a critical role in fostering outdoor recreation in our region. With the help of our volunteers, we are able to create and maintain accessible trails, cabins, and shelters. Volunteers are also a vital part of our community outreach programs and our monthly newsletter, the Potomac Appalachian.
The Work We Do
- We maintain over 1000 miles of trails. Learn more
- We maintain shelters along the Appalachian Trail and Tuscarora Trail. Learn more
- We build, restore and manage 50+ cabins. Learn more
- We manage land tracts for protecting views, providing access to trails and lands around the cabins. Learn more
- We monitor the Appalachian Trail Corridor boundaries. Learn more
- We do Geographic Information System, including map making and surveys. Learn more.
- We do advocacy work communicating our mission on the trails and at public events along with teaching and leading hikes. Learn more
- We have tons of opportunities to work at headquarters or at home including communications, membership, volunteering, grants, publications, information technology, archive management and many other activities. Learn more
- We have a Natural Resource manager and a Conservationist. Learn more
- We have Region Chapters who manage their own hike and trail maintenance. Learn more
- We have special intertest group for ski touring and climbing/mountaineering. Learn more
Volunteer Role Considerations
Location:
The club’s broad geographical reach means that there should be a job near you. Trail maintainer jobs are located in many places. Some jobs, however, can be performed only one place. Headquarters work is an example of that. A few jobs can be accomplished remotely. While you can probably work close to home, a long drive will often lead to a rewarding job in a scenic location.
Physical work: Many jobs require hard physical work. Trail maintainers often hike a great distance to their trail sections and then do hard work. On the other hand, there are indoor, desk jobs.
Skills required:
Most jobs require skills. In many cases, we will provide training. But several jobs require basic skills that volunteers need before they show up. For example, many workers at Headquarters need basic computer skills. Cabin maintainers need basic carpentry and repair skills.