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posted Mar 27, 2024

Ice Age National Scenic Trail: Trail Stewardship Notebook

by Ice Age Trail Alliance

The Ice Age National Scenic Trail (NST) is a thousand-mile footpath highlighting Wisconsin’s renowned Ice Age heritage and scenic beauty. The Ice Age Trail Alliance (IATA) and its partners can shape users’ experiences. As stewards of the land and the Trail, we can help users develop a connection with the land and create a sense of wonder — even pique their curiosity enough to further explore the Trail.

posted Sep 11, 2023

Hand Tools for Trails

by USDA Forest Service

The tools shown here are those used most often by Forest Service trail crews. They are categorized into tools for sawing, chopping, grubbing, digging and tamping, pounding, and hammering, lifting and hauling, peeling and shaping, and sharpening and rehandling. Each tool is described along with helpful techniques for use and maintenance.

posted Mar 26, 2024

Outdoor Enthusiasts Enjoy the Vermont Shorelines Thanks to the GEOWEB® Soil Confinement System

by Presto Geosystems

Outdoor enthusiasts enjoy scenic views along the Vermont shorelines thanks to the GEOWEB® Soil Confinement System.


posted Nov 25, 2023

Winter Bike Lane Maintenance

by Alta Planning + Design

This white paper provides collected best practices on winter bikeway maintenance as seen in US cities and around the world. The paper covers snow removal from bikeways, different types of de-icing surface applications and their advantages/disadvantages, and best practices for winter maintenance prioritization and scheduling. The paper also includes a brief discussion on innovative winter maintenance techniques either in use or in development.


posted Nov 25, 2023

Winter Maintenance Resource Guide

by Toole Design

Who is responsible for winter maintenance—property owners or government agencies—and what are the challenges?


posted Oct 10, 2023

Mountain Bike Trail Development

The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) recognized the need to create a resource for mountain bike (MTB) trail construction that would assist land and park managers seeking to build sustainable trails. The result of this effort is the Mountain Bike Trail Development Guidelines, a comprehensive “how to” that breaks down the process from start to finish beginning with assessing the project and ending with how to maintain the newly built trails.


posted Oct 4, 2023

Trail Creek Restoration

by Coalition for the Upper South Platte

The 2002 Hayman Fire grossly affected Trail Creek, a tributary to the South Platte River, with a concomitant increase of sediment yield, increases in significant flood events, and reduced habitat quality.


posted Jul 26, 2023

Wildfire Restoration Handbook

by Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC), Rocky Mountain Field Institute, Coalition for the Upper South Platte

This handbook is a collaboration of the Coalition for the Upper South Platte, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, and the Rocky Mountain Field Institute.


posted Apr 7, 2023

Building a Permeable, Low Maintenance Recreational Trail Along a Shoreline

by Presto Geosystems

In 2009, the city of The Colony planned to build a recreational trail (10 foot-wide, 3.5 mile pathway) that would run along the lake’s shoreline, contouring to its natural shape and providing residents with a picturesque route for outdoor activities such as walking, jogging, and cycling. The city selected the GEOWEB® Soil Stabilization System due to its flexibility to conform to curves, surface permeability, and low maintenance design.


posted Nov 8, 2022

Tools for Trails: Measuring and Surveying Tools

by Tools for Trails

Before trail builders start digging, they first have to lay the trail, flag the line, and more to ensure a grade that not only matches the terrain but also is well throughout to prevent erosion.


posted Oct 3, 2022

GEOWEB® Geocells Repairs Storm-Damaged Recreational Trails Along Maine’s Coastline

by Sue Crowe

GEOWEB® panels are used to reconstruct Kittery Point's walking trail and maintenance road.


posted Aug 8, 2022

Trail Tools: Grubbing Tools

by Tools for Trails

Let’s talk about grubbing and raking tools! You might have heard the term grubbing before, but if you’re new to trail building, it may be unfamiliar. Grubbing is when you are removing earth and topsoil. Basically digging into the first while removing vegetation in the process. Trail builders may also call this process hogging.


posted Jul 15, 2022

Trail Design & Maintenance

For trails to be considered “sustainable” they must meet these recreational needs while providing adequate protection to the environment while minimizing trail maintenance.


posted Jul 15, 2022

The influence of use-related, environmental, and managerial factors on soil loss from recreational trails

This research investigated the influence of several use-related, environmental, and managerial factors on soil loss on recreational trails and roads at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, a unit of the U.S. National Park Service.