The Connected Communities Project is a visionary effort led in partnership by federal land managers, Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (SierraTrails.org), and community partners to connect 15 mountain towns for economic prosperity through outdoor recreation—an $887 billion industry. It will create a vision for a recreation-focused lifestyle through community investment, shared stewardship, economic opportunity, and important new local jobs, all benefiting economically disadvantaged communities in California’s Plumas, Sierra, Butte, Lassen, and Nevada Counties, as well as Washoe County, Nevada. Our work will include planning, environmental review, trail creation, and maintenance of trails. The project’s intent is to diversify recreation throughout the region and provide economic stability, as well as support fire recovery and prevention efforts. This project will create a learning landscape for outdoor and environmental education programs that include youth employment and volunteer participation. Our visionary goal is to establish a multi-use signature route highlighting these communities, which we are calling the Lost Sierra Route.