Trail Design Specialists, LLC

08/12/2024

Just finished a Trail Master class with a group of amazing guys here in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. The terrain is super challenging with the amount of rock and lack of compactable soil in many areas. These guys power through all of it. 5 of the new Trail Masters aced all three tests. I think that’s a new record!

04/15/2023

Day one (of four) is in the rearview mirror. So far I've been through GA, TN, KY, IL and part of MO. Denver is today's destination. On my way to Reno for the American Trails/PTBA conference.

Car pic of the arch in St Louis at sunset.

12/10/2022

12/10/2022

Just finished this great project at Coralwood School near Atlanta. The crushed slate surfaced trail provides access to the outdoors for kids with with special needs.

09/11/2021

http://theoutdoorroute.com/mountain-bike-radio/2021/09/trail-eaffect-episode-38/
Thanks to Josh Blüm for the great interview with Mike Riter on Josh’s Trail EAffect podcast.

Trails build community and Communities build trails. What came first you may ask… Host Josh Blum digs into the stories of how trails effect and affect the people and places we call home and those we might like to call home.

08/03/2019

This week marked another successful Trail Master course! This 4 day certification was held at Mammoth Cave NP and was attended by a great mix of horse and bike folks along with park staff. I really appreciate the interaction with this class as I rambled on for 4 days about the importance of good trail design and construction.

07/23/2019

Thanks for all the likes and attention to my last post.
Here's some more thoughts on trails. My last post dealt with the importance of getting permission. This time I think I'll talk about the different types of impact that affect the amount of maintenance required to keep a trail in good condition.

Essentially there are a couple types of impact we should always consider when designing or creating a trail. This would apply to re-alignments, new trails and in many cases, even maintenance.

1– Natural impact- this comes in the form of nature’s constant attention to the job of reducing the earth to a gravitational leveling of the surface. Water, wind, and gravity wear away at surfaces causing erosion which deposits sedimentation at the bottom of every hill.

So what I'm trying to say here is water, wind and gravity work together to remove soil from your trail. USERS DON'T CAUSE EROSION. Bold statement, I know, but before you disagree, consider this; The amount of material removed by the users (bicycle tires, horse hooves, hiking boots) is minimal, even in wet situations. It literally takes wind, water and gravity to remove large amounts of material from a trail. Couple this with bad trail design and you have erosion. Motorized use is excepted. Adding a motor controlled by a throttle gives the user the ability to displace large amounts of material.

Most of you who design, build or maintain trails do so in a manner that manages the trail for natural impact. Keeping the elements from eroding your trail will help minimize much of your maintenance, right? Well-l-l, not entirely. In the last decade I've really come to understand there is another side to the coin and we really have to pay attention to how our trail users react to what we've done. Ever wonder why water bars don't work? See #2 for some possible insight.

2– User impact- this comes in many forms, a biker skidding a tire in an attempt to slow quickly, a horse punching deep holes in a soft or wet trail. It could be a hiker walking around a puddle and widening a trail because they don’t want wet feet or short cutting a switch back. Possibly a motorized user turning the throttle a bit too much on a hill or turn causing the tires to spin.

All these examples lead to premature and frequent maintenance through soil displacement, unauthorized trails or muddy trails. The bottom line here is these problems are all negative reactions to decisions you've made on your trail through location, structures you built (or didn't build), or repairs you made. If users go off trail or around obstacles, they are reacting to what you did. Next time you're out there, take a minute to watch how others react to something on a trail. Look for examples of both good and bad. You might be amazed at the insights you can gain.

Although erosion is a natural and unstoppable fact of life, it can be slowed to mimic a more natural process through proper design and construction.

Have fun, be safe.

06/08/2019

So here's the first installment of what I hope will be many more posts. I thought quite a bit about where the best place to start all this would be, and decided to start with a bit of a soap box approach. Let's get permission BEFORE we start a project...

Like any job worth doing, getting started can be the hardest part. Gaining access to a piece of property can be very difficult. Sometimes just tracking down the landowner or manager is next to impossible.
Regardless of how difficult that may be, it is imperative to always obtain written permission before you set out to build a trail or amenity on public or private property before you start. A great start to this is through the development of a memorandum of understanding (M.O.U.) between the land manager and the person or group seeking permission to build or modify a trail. A M.O.U. is nothing more than a simple document outlining the needs and expectations of both parties. The document is signed and dated by both parties. It is not a legal binding agreement, but rather a serious letter of intent agreed upon by both parties.
Here are a few tips that will help your chances of getting your trail idea accepted by a land manager.
• Let them know you are part of an established, organized and knowledgeable group
• Present a written proposal that describes in detail what amenity or trail project you would take on. Include the location of it.
• Include with your proposal a comprehensive plan that out-lines how you intend to start and finish the project. Include a drawing of the location on a topographic map.
• Don’t go to a land manager and just tell them what you want and expect them to get it done. Be willing to take on as much of the project as possible.
Be a partner not a problem.
• Be willing to compromise your initial goals. They are responsible for managing the land and have to base their decision on what is going to be best.
• Don’t bring a large overwhelming group to your meeting. This tends to intimidate rather than befriend and can reduce your chance of success. Choose a small friendly delegation to intelligently represent the group. Choose a project manager and let them act as the liaison between the land manager and the group. Leave the emotional aspect out of it. They know you love your sport, your trails, or your park. Keep it to just the facts.
• If your project is a new trail, consider presenting it as a shared use trail. Some land managers are more willing to consider this over a single use trail.

06/06/2019

In my not always so humble opinion, the easy thing to do here is post photos of trails I've built or are constructing. I think it does a great job of saying "look at all the dirt I've moved". After all a photo is supposed to be like a thousand words, but can it provide insight?

With that in mind, and as time allows I'd like to start posting words of trail wisdom. I want to think it will be a mixture of insight and excerpts from my book.

As many of you already know, I sell better trails. Not just a trail that drains well and hold up to the ravages of time, but a trail that brings a wow factor too.

This doesn't have to be a diatribe either. Got a question about something I've written or a problem with your trail? Maybe it becomes a topic for discussion here.

Let me know what you think.

11/30/2018

This is a 1 mile accessible trail located in Wauwatosa, WI. The trail is designed to provide a very natural experience for users with mobility issues while remaining appealing to everyone. Taking advantage of the newer accessibility guidelines this trail have frequent grade changes and numerous twists and turns.

04/17/2018

Here's the 2018 Trail Master patch that all participants who graduate from the 4 day Trail Master Certification course will receive!

04/17/2018

Moore Cove, Pisgah National Forest