Dozens of volunteers, most of them avid mountain bikers, have been spending Sundays working to extend a dirt trail at the Bacon Ridge Natural Area in Crownsville, creating the first natural-surface mountain bike trail in Anne Arundel County.

Volunteers completed the first 2.5-mile section of the trail last year before getting approval from the county to start the second phase.

Construction of the second phase, which will add 4.5 miles of trail, began Nov. 13.

Nearly 115 volunteers showed up last weekend to help, according to Brian Shannon, an employee of TrailWerks Cyclery in Annapolis and one of the people helping to organize the volunteer-led project.

The trail-building session drew about 55 volunteers, Shannon said.

“We'll be here every Sunday until it's done,” he said.

TrailWerks Cyclery owner Michael Klasmeier has spearheaded the project, along with the Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts, or MORE.

The trail makes mountain biking much easier for members of the local community.

Many area bikers often had to travel to the trails at Patapsco Valley State Park in Ellicott City or Rosaryville State Park in Prince George's County before the first phase opened at Bacon Ridge last year, Shannon said.

But the existing trail has also been popular among hikers, runners, bird-watchers and others, he said.

“It's very, very heavily trafficked,” he said.

Volunteers work to maintain the trail throughout the year by blowing off leaves, clearing fallen trees and handling other upkeep.

Before the start of trail construction, there was a roughly yearlong process of surveying the land and determining where exactly the route would go, ensuring it wouldn't be invasive to the environment or create any erosion problems, Shannon said.

Last Sunday, volunteers rode their bikes down the trail to where work was beginning on the extension, some pulling tools behind them in yellow bike trailers. All of the trail work is being done by hand.

Trevor Ellis and his 8-year-old son, Jarin, were among the volunteers who worked on the trail Sunday.

They have been involved with the Bacon Ridge project since the beginning, helping build the first phase last year, Trevor Ellis said.

The rest of the Ellis family was out at the trail last weekend volunteering, he said.

“It's a family affair,” Ellis said.

“We all pitch in to build it, take care of it and use it.”

Jim McNeely of Crofton said he was thrilled when he heard about the plans for the trail.

McNeely, a trail liaison with MORE, said he was part of a group of people who pushed the county years ago for a trail at Bacon Ridge.

He took part in the trail-building effort Sunday.

“My wife and son and I do a lot of stuff in the parks in Maryland,” McNeely said. “We mountain bike, hike, fish, boat.

“Getting a chance to support those activities and do something that will have a benefit in the long run, like building trail, it feels good.”