Gear Girls

Empowering young women through mountain biking, trail work, and snow sports.

Gear Girls uses mountain biking, trail work, and snow sports to build confidence, outdoor competence, community, and character in young women grades 4-8 throughout Flagstaff, Arizona. Girls learn practical skills in trail building, mountain biking, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing while absorbing lessons in mindfulness, teamwork, and determination that will prepare them for life’s bigger challenges.

Gear Girls holds an open and inclusive environment, allowing all to embrace the fullest versions of themselves while cultivating an environment of camaraderie, friendship, courage, and morale.

We firmly believe that given the opportunity, girls and young women can emerge as remarkably self-assured and inspired leaders, intrepid outdoor enthusiasts, and dedicated trail stewards. In a world where societal messages often limit their potential, Gear Girls seeks to bridge the gender gap and ensure that young women don’t miss the chance to become capable and confident outdoorswomen.

When given the chance, girls and young women can make incredibly confident and inspired leaders, outdoor adventurers, and trail stewards. It is easy for girls to miss the opportunity to become strong and capable outdoorswomen in a world where they receive messaging from a very young age about what they can and cannot do, and where they do and do not belong.

Gear Girls xc skiing the Schultz Creek area, winter 2025.

In traditional co-ed outdoor settings, it has been observed that girls may frequently defer to boys when faced with challenges or the need for assistance. In such scenarios, boys often take charge, leaving the girls feeling disempowered and without the opportunity to develop hands-on skills.

Gear Girls offers a distinct approach. When learning and applying these skills in a girls-only setting, these same young women learn quickly and grow confident enough to hold space in male-dominated sports and organically assume leadership roles. We are committed to breaking down barriers and creating a space where girls can flourish and become the strong, capable individuals they are destined to be.

2025 Gear Girls Sessions

In collaboration with Sedona Mountain Bike Academy, USFS Red Rock Trail Crew, and Flagstaff Lady Shredders, Gear Girls broke ground on and completed a BRAND NEW trail in the MTB mecca of Sedona in the spring of 2025.

Girls from Flagstaff, AZ meet every Friday or Saturday for ten weeks and are coached by a supportive all female staff in a low-pressure setting.

All gear (including mountain bikes, cross-country skis, snowshoes, winter boots, gloves), transportation (winter), healthy snacks, and leadership is provided at no cost to participants.

If you have any questions about the program, feel free to contact Makenzie Mabery, Gear Girls Coordinator at: makenzie@aztrail.org

Thank you, The Catena Foundation, REI-Coop for a generous Force of Nature grant that helped launch this program, and Hydro Flask Parks for All for their support of Gear Girls!

Gear Girls in the news:

Gateway Community Girls’ Camp: Project Rim Country

Gear Girls: A Unique Girls-Only Biking Group in Flagstaff

Arizona Trail Association Gear Girls Program Video

: Gear Girls improving Rocky Ridge Trail in the Schultz Creek area in partnership with the USFS Flagstaff Ranger District Trails Crew.

: Women’s Sedona trail work day in collaboration with Sedona Mountain Bike Academy, Flagstaff Lady Shredders, and USFS Red Rock Trail Crew.

: Flagstaff Lady Shredders tabling alongside Gear Girls at the 2025 Community Cycling Celebration.

: Huachuca hip pack design collab with Rogue Panda and Dark Sky Brewing Company for the 2025 Community Cycling Celebration silent auction.

: Gear Girls naturalizing sections newly rerouted trail in partnership with the USFS Flagstaff Ranger District Trails Crew.

: In partnership with the City of Flagstaff’s Sustainability Office, Gear Girls and community volunteers cleared debris from the Rio de Flag near the community of Chesire.

: In partnership with the City of Flagstaff’s Sustainability Office, Gear Girls and community volunteers cleared debris from the Rio de Flag near the community of Chesire.

: Gear Girls combined forces with Compost Crowd, Flagstaff Lady Shredders, and Dark Sky Brewing Company to clear garbage and invasive species from the Rio de Flag near the community of Chesire.

: Gear Girls combined forces with Compost Crowd, Flagstaff Lady Shredders, and Dark Sky Brewing Company to clear garbage and invasive species from the Rio de Flag near the community of Chesire.

: Fall campout at the Spring Valley Cabin on the Kaibab NF.

: In collaboration with REI, Gear Girls learn hands-on bike maintenance skills.

: REI maintenance clinic STOKE!

: Gear Girls improve sections of the AZT near Snowbowl in partnership with the USFS Flagstaff Ranger District Trails Crew.

: Flagstaff Trails Initiative and American Conservation Experience led Gear Girls through a trail design workshop. Girls were able to create their own trails and experience first-hand the processes behind trail design and implementation.

: Flagstaff Trails Initiative and American Conservation Experience leading Gear Girls through a trail design workshop.

: Gear Girls received personalized and signed copies of The Red Tail Tale on the Arizona Trail from author Rodo Sofranac.

: Absolute Bikes leading Gear Girls through a maintenance clinic, spring 2025.

: Gear Girls participate in a yoga flow led by GG Assistant Sarah Dowling.

To make a donation to support this important program, use the form below or mail a check to Arizona Trail Association: 738 N 5th Avenue, Suite 201, Tucson, Arizona 85705