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published Jun 2012

Best Practices for Bicycle Trail Pavement Construction and Maintenance in Illinois

by Illinois Center for Transportation

The main objectives of this report were to provide the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) with guidelines for the structural design of bicycle trail pavement and recommendations for bicycle trail pavement maintenance.


published Sep 2011

Ski Trail Grooming Guide

by NWT Recreation and Parks Assn.

NWT communties are connected by countless numbers of trails, though few of them are dedicated ski trails. With a little work, some equipment and know-how, ski doo trails, walking trails, cutlines, riverbeds, fields and lakes can be turned into quality ski trails. And it’s well worth the effort. Groomed and tracked ski trails are easier to ski on, easier to learn on, better to race on and a whole lot faster than bush trails. Groomed trails turn skiing into skiing!


published Jun 2011

Billings, Montana Trail Asset Management Plan

by Yellowstone County Metropolitan Planning Organization

Billings has successfully implemented over 35 miles of trail in the last 15 years, causing concern over how the trails will be maintained, which departments are responsible for maintenance, and how it will be funded.


published May 2011

Informal and Formal Trail Monitoring Protocols and Baseline Conditions

by U.S. Geological Survey

This research developed and applied state-of-the-art trail condition assessment and monitoring procedures and applied them to the park’s formal and informal (visitor-created) trails.


published Feb 2011

FAQ: Trash on trails

by American Trails Staff

Solutions to trash on trails


published Jan 2011

Adopt-a-Trail Manual

by National Park Service

The Adopt-a-Trail manual addresses the work accomplished in the Adopt-a-Trail program. This manual is meant to acquaint the maintainer with park procedures, duties involved in adopting a trail, and methods for safely performing those duties.


published Jun 2010

Trail Operation and Maintenance Requirements

The County of Cumberland, NJ studied a series of railroad corridors for possible trail use including maintenance responsibilities. The Feasibility Study was written by Campbell Thomas & Co. of Philadelphia, PA.


published Jul 2009

Preventative Maintenance for Recreational Trails

by Minnesota Department of Transportation

The growth in recreational trails owned by the State, Cities, Counties, and Park systems over the last 20 plus years has exploded. Most if not all efforts related to recreational trails over these years has been focused on construction of new trails. There have been little organized efforts in trail preservation and or preventive maintenance (PM) methods to extend the usable life of the trails. The agencies that have a PM programs for their recreational trails rely on treatments that started out as highway or street treatments that may have been modified for use on the trails.


published May 2009

Backcountry Recreation Site and Trail Conditions

by U.S. Geological Survey

Changing visitor use levels and patterns have contributed to increasing visitor use impacts to natural and cultural resources in specific areas at Haleakalā National Park.


published Dec 2008

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

by Jeffrey Marion with U.S. Geological Survey

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.


published Nov 2008

All-Terrain Vehicle Sustainability Assessments

by Jeffrey Marion with U.S. Geological Survey

The sustainable management of ATV use is an expensive proposition requiring careful design, construction, and maintenance of ATV trails.


published Mar 2008

ORV – Social & Management Issues

by Jeffrey Marion with U.S. Geological Survey

Off-road vehicles can have a substantial impact on the experience of other non-motorized visitors on trails that are shared or even on adjacent forest or park settings.