Who We Are

Our Mission

“The mission of Mountain Trails Youth Ranch is to provide superior outdoor programming for youth and adults that will challenge them to reach new levels of personal achievement while emphasizing teamwork, trust, responsibility, education, accountability and leadership.”

We design camps for groups. They are designed and built with the desires of the leadership skills you desire to have incorporated into your camp experience. We have a list in our contract for you to choose activities. Each camp is different since it is designed around your group's needs. You let us know what you want to acccomplish at camp and we can implement your desired elements. We will talk together about the itinerary before your group arrives so we know you are going to be satisfied with the activities.

Examples of groups we have done leadership camps for: Schools, clubs, sports teams, churches, ministry groups, college groups, bird watchers, teen centers, boys and girls clubs, just to name a few. We have worked with at risk teen groups for the first few years we were in business. We worked for several years with Community Resource Center with their adult Grassroots Non Profit Leadership Program of Denver. One of their leaders was altitude sensitive so they had to procure a place without the high altitude. The camp is at 9000 ft in elevation. We miss them!!

Mountain Trails Camp (MTC) was founded by Butch and Suzy Rawls in response to their belief that our youth are our nation’s greatest asset and our future leaders. MTC was born out of a commitment to provide positive and productive direction, purpose, and guidance in the development of this potential. MTC believes that youth possess unlimited potential and we desire to help develop this potential in each and every young person that we encounter. Butch was an Eagle Boy Scout and a Boy Scout leader for 17 years in Tennessee. Butch and Suzy founded the camp in 1990 and feel strongly that God has called them to this endeavor. Butch and Suzy freely share their faith if campers are interested in sharing. No one is made to feel uncomfortable. There are visual devotionals applying God's principles. Most groups that come from churches bring their own teachers to avoid any denominational differences. Mountain Trails provides the recreation and food during retreats or camps for churches or ministry groups. Mountain Trails would also love to be an outlet for denominational churches if their church does not have a camp or is too far away. We can design leadership camps for those spiritually inclined and also for those that want simply a leadership camp. Again, the camps are designed with your desires for accomplishment in mind.

We are going to begin family summer camps in Summer 2009 so if your family would like to play together at Mountain Trails, give us a call!! We believe that if you pray together and play together, it is a winning combination for families to get to know each other. We can design the family camps for a weekend or during the week and we can do one day, two day, three day or more depending on your schedule. Call soon so you will have the dates of your choice. Our camp is seasonal because of heavy snow here in Colorado so our months of operation in the mountain camp are May, June, July, August and September. We are called the "Land of Cool Sunshine" in the San Luis Valley so it is a great place to escape the heat of summer. We never put our sweaters away here.

Our valley is pristine and beautiful with lots of cultural and historical sites to visit. We are two hours from Taos, New Mexico and three hours from Sante Fe. This is a picturesque place to spend a vacation and the people are extra friendly. Come and experience western hospitality. We are a real break from the hustle and bustle of city life. The San Luis Valley is the largest alpine (surrounded by mountains) valley in the world. The mountain views are spectacular and wildlife abounds.

We look forward to working with you and your group. Our office phone is 719-852-3870. We are in the office part time during the winter so leave a message or email us at www.mountaintrailscamp.org.

Hunting Basics & Beyond

Mountain Trails Youth has established a youth hunter education and shooting sports training program. The program is housed at the ranch facility in the Alamosa Canyon. The program is named Hunting Basics and Beyond. The program’s web site address is www.youthhunt.org. The program office is be located at 361 Batterson Street in Monte Vista, Colorado. The mailing address is P.O. Box 649 Monte Vista, Colorado 81144. The organization is a 501-C-3 not-for-profit youth service organization.

THE MISSON:

To pass on the legacy of America’s hunting heritage to our next generation of hunters.

To pass on the skills of highly qualified, trained outdoor professionals to youth.

GOALS:

To help youth gain an appreciation for the game that they hunt and the majesty of God’s creation.
To promote value systems that honor ones God, Country and Family.
To promote safety, ethics, personal integrity and marksmanship as the basic values of any successful hunter.
To introduce youth to the sport of hunting in such a way as to promote safe and ethical hunting practices.
To introduce youth to a variety of shooting and outdoor skills which are necessary to become successful hunters.
To educate youth about the importance of, and to promote sport hunting as a wildlife
management tool.
To provide youth with opportunities to participate in wildlife conservation efforts.
To establish hunter mentoring opportunities for youth in need of positive adult role models.

PURPOSE:

While sport hunting is a popular pursuit for many in our society today our experience has taught us that many hunters simply are not able to spend enough time afield to fully develop their hunting skills, methods and practices. Statistics show, for example, that the average elk hunter in Colorado spends 5 days annually hunting elk. It can literally take a lifetime of trial and error to learn the basics. The average elk hunting guide in Colorado, on the other hand, spends 120 days a year hunting elk. Hunting Basics and Beyond can provide youth, who have an interest in the hunting sports, a jump start by exposing them to industry professionals that have acquired a lifetime of experience in the outdoors.

The purpose of the program will be to teach youth the skills that are hard to learn on their own such as:

Marksmanship
Shot placement
How NOT to get injured and NOT injure someone else
How to know when NOT to shoot
How to shoot at a spot on an animal not at an animal
How to sharpen a knife
How to start a fire in the rain
How to dress for unexpected weather changes
How to tell the time of day and direction by the sun
How to estimate yardage
How to pick a caliber and a good bullet
How to sight in a rifle
How to pattern a shotgun
How to pick a shot size and type
How to use a compass or GPS
How to read a map
How to tell how old an animal track is
How to deal with the non-hunting public
How an animal uses its habitat
How to select and use optics
Tracking wounded game / blood color
Field care of all types of game
Camouflage / stealth
Conservation strategies as a matter of personal choice
Each camper will be taught the “Hunters Prayer” ( “Lord, help me kill clean or miss clean”)

Teaching kids some of these skills from the outset will provide them with the basis for a lifetime of enjoyment and hopefully positive alternatives to drug and alcohol use.

Hunting Basics and Beyond will present nine, week long camp sessions devoted to four primary fields of endeavor. In the beginning the camp residence goal will be 30 campers per session. The long term (5 year) goal will be set at 50 campers per session. The fee will be $500.00 per camper.

1. Upland game and turkeys (shotgun/3weeks)

2. Waterfowl (shotgun/2 weeks)

3. Big game (rifle/3 weeks)

4. Big game (archery/2weeks)

Kids too young to hunt in Colorado will be offered state hunter safety education classes as part of the camp experience. A certified instructor must be found and contracted with until other staff can be trained.

Each program will be taught by staff members or guest presenters that are experts in their
particular field.

Butch Rawls will teach archery/rifle marksmanship and big game hunting.

Butch is the Founder and Executive Director of Mountain Trails Youth Ranch. He

has 18 years of continuous experience in the non-profit sector as the director of

outdoor oriented youth programs. Butch is also the founder and owner of Mountain

Trails Outfitters and has 20 years experience as a professional hunting guide. He has

an extensive background in the sport hunting industry and guides hunts in Colorado

for elk, mule deer, big horn sheep, black bear and mountain lion. Butch is also an

NRA certified archery/rifle/muzzle loading rifle and shotgun instructor.

Joe Hollingsworth will teach shotgun shooting /rifle marksmanship.

Joe is a professional gunsmith. He has won numerous National Trap Shooting

Championships and is an NRA certified shotgun /rifle instructor.

Greg Hood will teach turkey/duck calling and upland game hunting.

Greg is the founder and owner of Southern Game Calls and is a 14 time World Sanctioned Duck Calling Champion. Greg is also a 3 time National Turkey Calling Champion, a 3 time National Goose Calling Champion and a 3 time National Deer Calling Champion.

Kelly Slater will teach archery/ rifle marksmanship and big game hunting.

Kelly has been a professional big game hunting guide in Colorado since childhood.

He has guided hunts for whitetail deer in Oklahoma, as well as all of the big game

species of Colorado. He is an outstanding rifle marksman and has won numerous

Regional Shooting Competitions. Kelly is an NRA certified rifle/muzzle loading rifle

instructor and serves as the chairman of his local NRA chapter. He is also active in

the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

Mike O'Donal is the Hunting Basics and Beyond Program Manager and has seven years

experience as a professional hunting guide. Mike is a lifetime hunter and outdoorsman with

a passion for primitive bow making and horses. He and his wife Robin travel all over the world

teaching primitive skills.