posted May 26, 2018
by Pam Gluck with American Trails
From Horse Trails Symposium, Clemson University, 1998.
posted May 16, 2018
Increasing numbers of equestrians on public lands require more awareness of impacts.
posted Nov 5, 2018
by Maricopa County Parks and Recreation
Maricopa County (AZ) has put together a comprehensive guide to best practices in trail planning, construction, and maintenance. The 99-page guide includes Planning Objectives for a variety of trail types, motorized as well as nonmotorized. Barrier-free trails are also discussed, along with vegetation management, signs and wayfinding, and many more details of trail development and sustainable maintenance.
posted May 1, 2018
by Mike Passo with American Trails
I have had two great epiphanies in my life, and both of them were thanks to trails. The first epiphany came as a result of a mountain biking accident I had in June of 1991.
posted Apr 25, 2018
How would you like to get involved with yet another organization-- more meetings, more subcommittees, more incomprehensible reports? There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about creating new groups, but there are compelling reasons for putting efforts into those that promote trails on a statewide basis.
posted Apr 11, 2018
American Trails participated in the largest ever Hike the Hill ®, which brought 123 hikers and trail organization representatives to Washington, D.C. to advocate before Congress and the federal government for trails and public lands.
posted Mar 1, 2018
Developing a more uniform, systematic and data-driven process to set capital construction and maintenance priorities was vital to ensure funding is going to the highest priority projects.
posted Feb 5, 2018
by Robert (Bob) Searns with Robert Searns and Associates, Inc.
It's not as glamorous as building the trail. There is no ribbon cutting for a maintenance program and seldom does upkeep win a national award. Yet, operations, maintenance, and stewardship are essential to the safe use, enjoyment, and long-term success of any trail.
posted Aug 17, 2020
In the USA, sales and use of “fat bikes” (bicycles with 75–120 mm-wide tires) have increased dramatically in the past five years. These bikes are designed to open new terrain to cyclists, including snow-covered trails and softer ground surfaces impossible to ride with a standard mountain bike. In this paper, we discuss the extent and possible trends of fat bike use, potential impacts, conflicts and land management approaches.
posted Aug 13, 2020
In order to better guide research into the range of potential social and environmental impacts and benefits related to the use of eMTBs on natural surface trails, IMBA and the BPSA are interested in what questions land managers have regarding this new use. The survey explicitly targeted land managers’ experiences and concerns regarding eMTB use on natural surface and/or singletrack trails – not paths or bikeways – although some land managers are responsible for both types of trail infrastructure.
posted Jan 29, 2020
Several themes emerged from this review of the e-bike literature. E-bike use has grown dramatically over the past decade and there is little evidence to suggest this growth will slow in the coming decade.
posted Dec 22, 2020
by International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA), Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association (SORBA)
Bike parks are not trails. They are managed similarly to city parks. They require a higher standard of care. They need to be professionally designed and constructed.
