Trail Maintenance & Design

Andrew Norkin (left) of AMC talks about sustainable trail design last Friday in Concord

Last week the Forest Society and the New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF) co-hosted a workshop entitled "Trail Maintenance and Design Basics" at SPNHF's Conservation Center in Concord.  The workshop was for land stewards (SPNHF) and forest stewards (NEFF) who assist with trail development and maintenance on conservation lands but have not had much in the way of formal training in the past.  Many other trail maintainers from local and regional groups also attended.  Instructors Andrew Norkin and Kris Kebler, both from the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), spent a great deal of time describing all of the planning and factors which go into the creation of a truly sustainable trail, one that will need only routine maintenance over time and will not be overwhelmed by soil compaction, displacement and erosion.  The take-home message was definitely that this process is not a simple or a "quick" one...trails that are delineated arbitrarily, or along existing "social trails" or woods roads, are not likely to be sustainable over the long term, depending upon how much and what types of use they get.  Sustainable trails require a lot of time in exploring the land and planning a layout, getting buy-in from the community and potential maintainers, determining user groups, access and control points, and planning erosion control infrastructure.  For better or for worse, we rarely have the opportunity to do all of that on Forest Society reservations, as our properties often come to us with trail networks already in existence, and already in use! Still, knowing how to create a sustainable trail from scratch can also be helpful for figuring out options to make an existing trail better.

After a morning indoor session, the group of 25 participants braved the chilly rain and headed outdoors to look at some local examples of trail construction.  Both good and poor examples were highlighted.  As a final exercise, the group planned a mock "reroute" of an existing trail, flagging out a new route for an existing section of trail that would help shed water using grade dips and reversals.  The shorter (less distance, and less time) and slower (less steep) that water runs on/down a trail, the fewer erosion problems will result!  We didn't actually re-route the trail, but everyone gained a better understanding of how to lay out a sustainable natural surface trail.  Thanks to the folks at AMC for a great workshop.