It’s that time of year to get some new trail on the ground, to get volunteers mobilized, or to maintain some existing trail. Here’s three important techniques for building and maintaining trails that every trail manager or volunteer should know. Interested in some trail training for your staff or volunteers? See opportunities below!
1. Rolling Contour Trails
Designing and laying out rolling contour trails will help managers spend less time and money maintaining and managing their trails. Rolling contour trails gently follow the terrain of the hillside. Frequent changes in grade and outslope of the trail surface encourage the flow of water across the trail instead of down it.
2. Outslope
Constructing and maintaining outslope on trails will help minimize erosion by limiting the volume and velocity of water on the trail surface. As the trail traverses the hillside, the downhill or outside edge of the trail should tilt slightly away from the hillside to encourage “sheet flow” of water across the trail.
3. Rolling Grade Dips
On trails that aren’t designed and constructed sustainably, rolling grade dips can be constructed to remove water from the trail. Due to user-friendliness and the need for less frequent maintenance, these dips are preferred to using traditional waterbars to minimize erosion on the trail surface.
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