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TRAIL DESIGN skills and competencies
Specific skills used in trails and greenways work:
layout of trails; design for different trail activities; types of trails.
See below for training and resources links for trail
design.
The following is a list of skills and competencies for this category
of trails work.
Skills for Natural Surface Trail Design
- Basic trail design
- Sustainable trail design
- Layout of trails, design for different trail activites,
- Assessing soils, geology, slope, and vegetation of trail corridor
- Tying routes together into a trail system
- Design for shared-use trails
- Design for off-highway vehicle use
- Design of off-highway vehicle parks and use areas
Skills for Trail-related Facility Design
- Designing elements for drainage and water control
Skills for Accessible Trail Design
- Using universal design guidelines to design and lay out (or retrofit)
accessible trails and trail facilities
- Identifying varieties of users including families and the elderly
as well as the disabled
Skills for Urban Trail and Bike/Ped Facility Design
- Basic urban trail design
- Design of intermodal bicycle/pedestrian facilities
Skills for Trailhead Facility Design
- Laying out parking and unloading areas
- Designing signs and information structures
- Designing related facility placement
Skills for Design of Structures
- Trail bridge types, selection and design
- Boardwalk materials and design
- Restrooms for trail use
TRAINING and RESOURCES for trail
design
Links will take you to specific training opportunities,
training providers, and other educational resources for both urban and
backcountry trails. See the Online Training
Calendar for current opportunities, featured
training providers, and resources in each
state.
Courses on Trail Design
See providers
of training on trail design below
Check the online
Calendar for current scheduled training
Search the NTTP
training database by keyword, state, or provide
- American Trails offer workshops
on: Understanding Accessibility and Building Better Trails
- Outdoor Stewardship Institute (formerly
COTI): programs for basic trail building and maintenance skills as
well as "Sustainable Mountain Trails: Assessment, Planning &
Design" course
- Federal Highway Administration has
a University Course on Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation, and
courses on Pedestrian Facility Design and Bicycle Facility Design
- Georgia Trails and Greenways
and Gainesville State College provide classes in Trail Design and
Layout, and Trail Construction
- IMBA Trailbuilding Schools: sponsored
by Subaru of America and directed by the International Mountain Bicycling
Association, to teach sustainable trailbuilding
- Marshall University Park and Recreation
Resources program of Huntington, WV, has developed and is teaching
an off-highway vehicle trail design course via the internet
- Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society
provides a variety of courses on Trail Design, Construction, and Maintenance
- Professional Trailbuilders Association
sponsors the annual Trailbuilders Conference with workshops on technical
aspects of planning, development, and management
- Student Conservation Association teaches
skills in trail design, construction, and maintenance
- Trail Management: Plans, Projects and
People: week-long interagency training for trail planning, design,
development, and management
- University of Minnesota Center for Continuing
Education teaches "Recreational Trails: Design, Construction,
and Maintenance"
- On-site trail design and training for both motorized and nonmotorized
trails from Troy Scott Parker of Natureshape,
Inc.
- See more training providers
- Check for training providers in your
state
Resources for Trail Design
The Trail Building
Index provides a wealth of articles, projects, and resources on
design and construction issues.
Books on Backcountry and Natural Surface
Trail Design
The following books are available from the American
Trails Store. Also see the American
Trails Bibliography.
- Natural Surface Trails by Design Physical and Human Design Essentials
of Sustainable, Enjoyable Trails; by Troy Scott Parker
- Trail Solutions: IMBA's Guide to Building Sweet Singletrack;
Cutting-edge trailbuilding techniques with proven fundamentals in
a colorful, easy-to-read format
- Lightly On The Land : The SCA Trail Building and Maintenance
Manual, 2nd Edition; the trail building and maintenance "Bible,"
updated and expanded to meet new techniques and new realities of the
21st century.
More books on trail design:
- Park guidelines for off-highway vehicles: A resource guide to
assist in the planning, development, enhancement, and operation of
OHV recreation facilities; by the National
Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council
- Wetland Trail Design and Construction Robert Steinholtz and Brian
Vachowski, US Department of Transportation and the US Department of
Agriculture - Forest Service, Missoula Technology and development
Center, 2001
Books on Greenways and Urban Trail Design
The following books are available from the American
Trails Store:
- Trails for the Twenty-First Century: Planning, Design, and Management
Manual for Multi-Use Trails; by Charles Flink , Kristine Olka
, Robert Searns; focus on urban and rail trails
- Greenways: A Guide to Planning, Design and Development; by
Charles A. Flink, Robert M. Searns, Loring LaB Schwarz
- Designing Sidewalks and Trails for Access:
Part I Review of Existing Guidelines and Practices and Part
II: A Best Practices Design Guide, from Federal Highway Administration
.
The National Trails Training Partnership is an alliance
of Federal
agencies, training
providers, nationwide
supporters, and providers of products
and services. Visit the online
calendar of training opportunities, access hundreds of trail-related
resources,
read the news,
learn how
you can help, and see training resources in your
state.
The National Trails Training
Partnership
American Trails, P.O. Box 491797, Redding, CA 96049-1797 (530)
547-2060 Fax: (530) 547-2035 nttp@americantrails.org
www.AmericanTrails.org
This material is based upon work supported by the
Federal Highway Administration under Cooperative Agreement DTFH61-06-H-00023.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed
in this publication are those of the Author(s) and do not necessarily
reflect the view of the Federal Highway Administration.
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RESOURCES
and TRAINING for trail design:
Courses
Books
Articles & projects
Bibliography
Glossary
Calendar
Products
& services
CATEGORIES
of SKILLS for trails and greenways work:
1.
Trail Design
2. Construction
3. Maintenance
4. Management
5. Policies
6. Planning
7. Administration
8. Organizations
9. Partnerships
10. Resources
11. Information
12. Outreach

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Trails Training Partnership:
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we are
Featured
training
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by state
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the training database
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