Crozet's community blog
It’s a lot cheaper than the Eastern Connector, and it’s going to happen, too!
A few weeks ago, I mentioned the Crozet Trails Crew are raising money to build a bridge. Nest Realty (disclosure: I’m an associate broker/partner there) posted this video and blog post this morning.
We can do this, and you can donate here (I did).
Ever think about how much less great Crozet would be without the Crozet Trails Crew? I was talking to a client last week about how amazing the Crozet Trails and Crozet Trails Crew are, and they, not being from Crozet, had not heard of either.
So I went for a walk, and shared a few photos with them. We are a better community because of the Crozet Trails. Simple.
| Big project: Sign up to build a bog bridge in Old Trail Serve Beer and Wine at the Arts & Crafts Festival in May February CTC Meeting We need a secretary Build a Bog Bridge at Western Park in Old Trail We have been working closely with the county Parks & Recreation department to plan some trail additions in Western Park. Our most recent project was to re-open a trail that goes through an often-swampy area. We will improve the trail by adding a narrow bog bridge. The first phase requires one or two people on Wednesday, February 21, to cut lumber. Sign up here to meet at the Miyamoto’s home at 9:00 a.m., address will be supplied. We need people who are comfortable using a power saw. The big day of construction will be the morning of Saturday, February 24. Many people are needed to install a long stretch of bridge. You will be working on wet, boggy ground, so dress accordingly — you will need boots and work gloves. If you have a cordless impact driver or drill, please bring it, as well as star (torx) bits if you have them. Activities include: Site preparation using string trimmers, loppers, etc. Removing the old walkway Construction of lumber walk sections Moving sections and materials to site ?Linking sections together If you sign up here we can notify you of any changes, but feel free to come even if you weren’t able to plan ahead. Please review our safety guidelines before joining a work day. Bartenders For the Arts & Crafts Festival  The Trails Crew has a reputation for our work on trails. But you know what else we’re known for? The best volunteer beer & wine servers in Crozet! We have a big schedule to fill up, so why not come out to the Crozet Park Arts & Crafts Festival and be part of the story? You get in free, and another free tee shirt because I know you need one! (And of course you’ll need to sample the product to make good suggestions!)We always have a great time at the Festival, and we will train newcomers. So sign up for a shift Saturday, May 11 or Sunday, May 12 and be part of the fun. February Trails Crew Meeting at Crozet Park Our next meeting will be this Thursday, February 22, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Location: Community Building at Crozet Park. We will be discussing plans for our next project, progress towards constructing the Lickinghole Creek bridge, and preparations for maintaining trails during the upcoming growing season. We welcome anyone who is interested in getting involved, or just learning about, the work (and fun) of the Trails Crew! If you’re new to Crozet, and haven’t yet found the trails, here’s your chance to meet some great people. It’s also a great chance to bring forward suggestions, so if you have a great idea, please join us. Directions: Enter at the main Park Road entrance to Claudius Crozet Park (1075 Claudius Crozet Park, Crozet). Take the first left to go around the pool then drive through the parking lot behind the pool. The Community Building is the small white building at the far side of the parking lot. Enter through the door on the parking lot side. If you drive, please park inside the park — not along Hilltop or Indigo — leaving the places closest to the building open so the basketball hoops can be used, and enter through the door next to the equipment shed. Can you Help? We Need a Secretary Here’s an opportunity to help out with Trails Crew. We are looking for a person to take the position of Secretary, effective April 1. Responsibilities are simple: take minutes at our monthly meeting, type them up, and nag Terri to post them. At the end of the month, collect hours worked from the various work days, and email them to the county. This is a great way to help out, even if you aren’t the type to hit the trails with a trimmer on work days. If you are willing, please email [email protected] |
| More About the Crozet Trails Crew More about Crozet Trails, including details about the pedestrian bridge we are going to build, plus maps, current projects, and info about our annual 5K race, is available on our web site at CrozetTrailsCrew.org. Donate to the bridge fund at crozettrailscrew.org/connecting-communities/ Also: Follow us on Facebook |
The Crozet Trails remain one of the absolute best things in and about Crozet. And the people who build, maintain, plan the trails are amazing, too!
| What’s In This Email Trails Crew Monthly Meeting April 27 Can You Mow This Summer? Picture from Guided Trail Walk to Lickinghole Basin WAHS students’ painting project at pedestrian tunnel We Have Bartenders! Monthly Meeting Thursday, April 27 I promised to let you know whether we would meet at the brewery or at Crozet Park. I’m throwing my trust behind the weather app that tells me Thursday’s rain will hold off until later that night, so we’ll meet at Pro Re Nata, 6135 Rockfish Gap Turnpike, Crozet, at 6:30. Come a little earlier if you want to order something to eat or drink while we meet. We welcome anyone who is interested in getting involved, or just learning about, the work (and fun) of the Trails Crew! If you’re new to Crozet, and haven’t yet found the trails, here’s your chance to meet some great people. Our next meeting will be Thursday, April 27, 6:30-8:00 p.m. outdoorsat Pro Re Nata. I will do my best to find a table in easy view of the big parking lot, but if you are planning on coming and want my phone number in case you need to text, send an email to [email protected] If you’re looking for an opportunity to get involved in Crozet, and want to do something that’s fun, rewarding, and sociable, our meeting is a great place. We Need a Person to Mow Near the Basin The part of the trail from Western Ridge out to Lickinghole Basin is not accessible to the county’s big mowers, so the Trails Crew is responsible. We need a volunteer to mow that section regularly this growing season (now to October). We have positioned a mower in the area, so you don’t have to move it to the trail. We will pay for fuel. Basically it takes about an hour once or twice a month, at your convenience. Can you mow this year? If you’re willing, or want more information, send an email to [email protected].Guided Trail Walk to Lickinghole BasinA dozen of us took a nice long walk out to the basin last week. Yes, we saw the eagle! Are you interested in another guided trail walk? Send your ideas about where you want to explore our greenway.  WAHS Day of Service to Benefit the Crozet Connector Trail Big THANKS! to the Western Albemarle students and their teachers who came out to paint the pedestrian tunnel on the Crozet Connector Trail on April 17.  Thank You For Filling Up the Bartending Schedule You did it! We have a full schedule for serving wine and beer at the Arts Festival at Crozet Park on Mother’s Day weekend. Thank you all for showing Crozet what we’re good at. If the weather is good, we could probably use an extra pair of hands or two in the busy afternoons, so feel free to stop by and offer to help. |
| More About the Crozet Trails CrewMore about Crozet Trails, such as maps, current projects, and info about our annual 5K race, is available on our web site at CrozetTrailsCrew.orgAlso: Follow us on Facebook |
Crozet Trails, Bluegrass, Diapers, 5K … all to support one of the best things in Crozet that benefits us all – the Crozet Trails, and the Crozet Trails Crew!
| Later start time: 10 a.m. Sleep in and relax before you come Family Fun Run and Diaper Derby: Fun for the whole family Bluegrass Music: Stick around for the music and fun after the race Starr Hill Brewery: Try an autumn flavor from our neighborhood brewery Help support our work providing trails for Crozet! Register here |
I’ve said it hundreds of times, The Crozet Trails Crew and Crozet Trails are some of the best things in Crozet.
You can help with Crozet Trails by joining in our primary fundraiser!
Don’t miss it, whether you know you can run that 5K in 20 minutes, or you’re willing to stroll along the beautiful trail, dog on leash and coffee cup in hand.
DATE: Saturday, October 29
TIME: 10:00 a.m.
LOCATION: Claudius Crozet Park
Registration now open
Registration is $20 ($25 day of race) and all runners get a race T-shirt.
The Course starts in Crozet Park and continues on the Crozet trail system to the east of the Park (rustic trail, so plenty of roots, rocks, and ruts), and finishes back at Crozet Park. Online registration ends Thursday October 27 at 5 p.m. In-person registration starts at 9:00 a.m. the day of the race.
FUN RUN!
There will be a shorter course (the 1K family fun run) in addition to the 5K. Registration is $15 (on-line and in person, same cost) and all registrants get a t-shirt (but no timing or places are awarded). Kids under 7 years old can participate in the Family fun run for free if they are accompanied by a registered participant.
| Monthly Meeting Thursday, September 22We welcome anyone who is interested in getting involved, or just learning about, the work (and fun) of the Trails Crew! If you’re new to Crozet, and haven’t yet found the trails, here’s your chance to meet some great people. Our next meeting will be Thursday, September 22, 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the Community Room (formerly the Radio Building) at Claudius Crozet Park. If you’re looking for an opportunity to get involved in Crozet, and want to do something that’s fun, rewarding, and sociable, our meeting is a great place. We don’t care if you’ve never come before, we’d love to meet you now. Our agenda this month will include planning some winter projects (and socials!), finalizing what we need for the 5K on October 29, and discussing options for our dream of a Lickinghole Creek bridge. Directions: Enter at the main Park Road entrance to Claudius Crozet Park (1075 Claudius Crozet Park, Crozet). Take the first left to go around the pool then drive through the parking lot behind the pool. The Community Building is the small white building at the far side of the parking lot. Enter through the door on the parking lot side. If you drive, please park inside the park — not along Hilltop or Indigo — leaving the places closest to the building open so the basketball hoops can be used, and enter through the door next to the equipment shed. |
via email. This will be a lot of fun, with one of the best things about Crozet.
The Crozet Trails Crew invites the community to Mint Springs Park on Sunday at 4:00 to celebrate and dedicate the new amphitheater, built by the crew and paid for by Paul McCartney!
We’ll have an interesting story about the stage, pizza and lemonade, trail maps and advice, and music by the Crozet Jam Band led by Jim Pyles. Plus it’s your chance to find out more about the Crozet Greenway system, what we’re planning, and how you can help.
And meet Bigfoot!
All the details on their web site at CrozetTrailsCrew.org
via email (please forgive the formatting, as the blog doesn’t like this sort of copy paste)
This is awesome. The Crozet Trails Crew are one of the best parts of Crozet. Full Stop.
| Share What Crozet Trails Mean to You This Year It has been a delight to see so many out on the trails since the COVID lockdown began. Walking, running, biking, birding, catching frogs, and posting messages in the tunnel, Crozetians are doing it all whether alone or with family, friends, or a treasured pet. Our community is a special place. It feels even more so as we safely enjoy the outdoors and time together, even if it is 6’ apart! As the saying goes when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! The Trails Crew agreed it was prudent to cancel the annual 5K race. But that doesn’t mean we cannot stay connected. So we decided to create a storyboard to capture Crozetians’ experiences on the trails and parks to memorialize this unique time in our lives. We are asking you to share photos (selfies, families, pets, nature) taken on the Crozet trails and parks and to briefly answer the question “How have the trails eased your COVID experience?” The plan is to post the storyboard and comments on the Crozet Trails Crew website and to share it with local publications. If we receive a solid response, the Crozet Library has agreed to display the story board. We do need permission to print your pictures and comments. Please join in creating a Crozet trails storyboard by clicking on the link Trails in the Time of COVID which will guide you through the process of attaching pictures and comments about your experience on the trails. |
| Getting Back to Work We’ve been depending on individual workers to keep the trails in shape since March, but we’re going to try to step up our game, and start scheduling some small work days. Needless to say, things won’t be like they were before, and we have developed these guidelines to help keep us all safe and healthy. 1. Work groups will be limited in size All groups will be limited to 10 people or fewer, depending on the space we will be working in. When we go out to prune and trim a trail, we’re able to spread out, so as many as 10 people may be OK. If we are working in a smaller space, the numbers will be smaller. 2. Everyone must sign up in advance This allows us to control the size of groups, and to follow up with you in case contact tracing is needed. I will link to Sign Up Genius pages for each work day. PLEASE: If you sign up and then have to cancel, remove your Sign Up so we have enough workers for every project! 3. Masks are required; work gloves are encouraged We will need to wear masks when we are close together–I anticipate this will be when we gather to discuss the work to be done. Once we are spread out, and are not within a few feet of each other, masks can be removed. Please be aware of trail users, though, and make sure to step aside to allow space if people pass on the trail. 4. Tools will be cleaned with disinfectant wipes at the beginning and end of work, and when transferred between people. The Trails Crew doesn’t have an unlimited supply, so it would be great if you bring your own. 5. A hand washing station will be available with soap, water, and paper towels. If you can bring your own hand sanitizer, please do! 6. Social Distancing will be required. |
“Crozetians have told us about the importance of connecting Crozet’s different neighborhoods and centers with safe routes for pedestrians and cyclists.
We invite you to discuss potential projects and recommendations that can address the community’s goals regarding bicycle and pedestrian connectivity.
Your participation will be used to draft recommendations in the Connectivity Chapter of the Crozet Master Plan. “
via email
It’s the race where everyone wins. Participants get to compete on one of prettiest greenways in Albemarle County, and CTC uses the registration fees and other donations to expand and promote Crozet’s trail network. Recent improvements include stabilizing soft spots with crushed stone, a new stairway to access the Creekside trail head, benches and a tunnel under the new Eastern Avenue extension.
October 12th at Crozet Park.
The Kids Fun Run begins at 8:00 AM followed by the 5K race at 8:30 AM. At 9:30 AM we will award medals and hand out raffle prizes donated by big-hearted Crozet merchants. We would love to have you join us. It is $20 to register on-line and $25 in person.
Visit crozettrailscrew.org or RunSignUp for more details and to register.
The outdoors are at your doorstep – we hope to see you on October 12th. Thank you for contributing.
Terri Miyamoto, President
