The Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) awarded a $660,000 grant to the Juneau Community Foundation’s Treadwell Ditch Trail Renovation Project. This grant paid for 75% of the total project, with a 25% local match required. Thank you to all of our local donors who helped us meet the $220,000 cash match requirement. The project is making the Treadwell Ditch Trail accessible, safe, and world-class from beginning to end
Renovation of the historic Treadwell Ditch Trail has long been a community priority. In the area of Parks, Trails, and Recreation, the Juneau Community Foundation’s top priority is to assist Trail Mix, Inc., USFS, State, and CBJ in completing the Treadwell Ditch Trail Renovation Project. Repair work in recent years has brought greatly increased access and recreational use for multiple user groups. We believe the community will enthusiastically embrace the completion of this project sooner rather than later.
Juneau is actively building a world-class trail system. The Treadwell Ditch Trail is an integral part of that system and continues to be popular despite only a third of its 14.2-mile length having been renovated. The Treadwell Ditch Trail runs from Eaglecrest to the Mt. Jumbo Trail in Douglas. Its rich history, a 1% grade, and multiple established access points keep it popular with hunters, hikers, runners, mountain bikers, and winter trail enthusiasts. The 1993 CBJ Juneau Trails Plan highlighted Treadwell as the top community trail priority for upgrading and multi-use.
The CBJ’s Parks & Recreation Master Plan Preliminary Findings (December 2016) reaffirmed the Treadwell’s priority and reported that “Hiking is overwhelmingly the most popular recreational activity in Juneau. In the past 12 months, 89% of Juneau residents used Juneau trails for walking, hiking, running, cross country skiing, biking and other forms of recreation; with 78% ranking city trails as high or very high value to the community. Many commenters suggested continued maintenance and improvements on existing trails, notably Treadwell Ditch Trail…”
As a part of this trail renovation effort, Trail Mix just completed a thorough trail analysis and identified the need for repairs and improvements: bridges/retaining walls, turnpike/gravel fill, stone removal/manipulation, trail widening/relocation, drainage ditches/root removal and stone fords/culverts. The analysis divided the trail into five sections and estimated repair costs of at least $650,000. Matching funds, in-kind donations from local business and volunteer trail work will lower the overall dollar On-the-ground work will take three years to complete.
Without broad community fundraising support, it will take many years before government grant funding allows for completion of this project. We believe it is in the community’s best interest (recreation, health, tourism) to see this trail renovation completed sooner rather than later. The Foundation’s collaboration with Trail Mix, CBJ, USFS, many volunteers and local businesses will leverage funds, resources and people power to accomplish the goal. In fact, there is already a volunteer trail crew of 18 people who will assist with trail maintenance, renovation and small bridge work starting this season.
Grant award and project work scope
Project Map
Trail Mix
Project Update
In 2025, the reconnection of the 13.3-mile trail was made possible by the combined efforts of a record six partner organizations: the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), Juneau Community Foundation, U.S. Forest Service, City and Borough of Juneau, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Wildlife Restoration Program (Pittman–Robertson Act), and Trail Mix, Inc. These groups worked alongside the Volunteer Trail Maintenance Team, founded by passionate local retirees, and hundreds of community volunteers to bring the trail back to life.
This project installed 33 bridges and 25 culverts, hardened the trail with thousands of pounds of gravel, and rebuilt degraded sections across the 13.3-mile route. 45 Trail Mix crew members worked on the trail, who together contributed 10,638 hours of labor. Additionally, more than 25 members of the Volunteer Trail Maintenance Team, formed by dedicated locals to care for the Ditch, put in an additional 18,000+ volunteer hours. Numerous other community members also volunteered on the trail, making this a true all-hands-on-deck effort.
The project now ensures continuous public access to the off-road areas of Douglas Island, strengthening Juneau’s world-class trail system and securing the trail’s legacy for future generations.
Thank you for everyone who donated and made this work possible!
To support continued maintenance of the trail, please consider a gift to the Volunteer Trail Maintenance Team (VTMT) Fund or the Treadwell Ditch Trail Maintenance Endowment.
