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2011 CRT Awards

639 views • posted 12/29/2017 • updated 10/16/2019

Education and Communication

Shadow Mountain Trail System - Wyoming

Crew working on trail

The Wyoming State Trail Crew performs maintenance, rehabilitation and development work on trails across the state.

After the Travel Plan for Bridger-Teton National Forest - Jackson Ranger District was completed in the spring of 2009, the implementation process began. A major component of this process was to develop the north section of the Shadow Mountain area into an ATV system of quality trails for safe family riding. The Wyoming Trail Crew, assisted by Forest staff on the North Shadow Mountain, placed trail sign posts, closed unsafe routes, created some new trail sections, and completed substantial erosion control where needed.

The trails that were no longer suitable for use were decommissioned and covered by fallen trees and blocked by boulders to communicate to riders in a manner that accentuates the natural environment to use the new rerouted trail. Trail markers and signs were added along new sections of trail to keep riders on designated routes, and a sign detailing OHV regulations, safe and ethical use and interacting with wildlife was constructed at the trailhead. The resulting benefit of the Wyoming Trails Crew’s efforts was to create an excellent opportunity for ATV riders to enjoy the high level of scenery available in the Shadow Mountain area, immediately adjacent to Grand Teton National Park.

Forest Service employee installing new route signs

With financial assistance from the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) and additional funding from the Wyoming Snowmobile and Off-Road Vehicle Programs, the Wyoming State Trail Crew performs maintenance, rehabilitation and development work on trails across the state.

Specifically on the Shadow Mountain North Area, the Wyoming Trail Crew: 1) re-routed a section of steep unsustainable trail to a more sustainable location and designed the re-route as an OHV route within the loop system located on the north side of Shadow Mountain; 2) improved multiple bog areas that retained water to provide proper drainage to reduce erosion and increase sustainability on a separate trail; and 3) constructed a connecting trail to allow OHV family use to remain completely on the enclosed loop trail system and increase the safety of mixed use vehicle recreation on a portion of the Shadow Mountain Road.