Sort: Date Posted Title

posted May 9, 2022

Hub for Information on Trail Users

Everything you need to know about trail counters, trail user surveys, and other information to better understand and engage your trail users.*

posted Jan 18, 2022

Shared-Use Trail Hub

Everything you need to know about planning, building, and managing shared-use trails.

posted Apr 3, 2023

2023 Legacy Trails Program Grant Awardee Portal

Below you will find documents that may be useful as you prepare your invoices.


posted Feb 14, 2023

TRAILS SAFE PASSING PLAN: STOP, SPEAK, and STAND BACK

by Equine Land Conservation Resource

Horses are prey animals and naturally can be afraid of unfamiliar people and objects. Horses have natural "flight“ survival instincts and prefer to move their feet towards an exit route. Therefore, people with horses should pass at a walk while other trail users remain STOPPED until passed.


posted Feb 2, 2023

2023 Legacy Trail Program Awardees Announced

We are excited to announce the winners of our 2023 Legacy Trail Program grants. In the first year of this program, we funded a total of $1.35 million to 33 organizations.


posted Jul 15, 2022

ORV – Social & Management Issues

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.


posted Jul 15, 2022

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.


posted Jul 15, 2022

Research for the Development of Best Management Practices to Minimize Horse Trail Impacts on the Hoosier National Forest

by USDA Forest Service

This research investigates horse trail impacts to gain an improved understanding of the relationship between various levels of horse use, horse trail management alternatives, and subsequent horse trail degradation.


posted Mar 21, 2022

10-Year Trail Shared Stewardship Challenge

by USDA Forest Service

Why Do We Need a Trail Challenge? Despite the great work happening in support of trails, workload demands continue to outpace the capacity of agency staff, partners, and volunteers. To address these shortcomings, the Forest Service has issued a 10-year Trail Challenge. It focuses the collective energy and resources of the trail community on actions resulting in greater collective capacity to manage and maintain trails, as well as more miles of trails that are well-designed, well-maintained, and well-suited to support recreation use today and into the future.


posted Oct 11, 2021

Trail User Survey Library

These Trail User Survey examples show how trails across the country are listening to their trail users to gather data for funding, maintenance, events, and more.


posted Sep 3, 2021

Be Trail Kind - Trails Are Common Ground Initiative Launches

No matter our differences in backgrounds or how we choose to enjoy the great outdoors, trails create common ground that connects us. Access to trails is a privilege we acknowledge and can only safeguard through our actions toward one another.


posted Aug 26, 2021

Monitoring Guidebook

by The Interagency Visitor Use Management Council

Evaluating Effectiveness of Visitor Use Management


posted Aug 26, 2021

Data Survey and Sampling Procedures to Quantify Recreation Use of National Forests in Alaska

by USDA Forest Service

Estimating visitor numbers and collecting information on visitor attitudes in Alaska national forests is especially challenging because of the dispersed access to the forests by a relatively small number of visitors.


posted Aug 10, 2021

Digging Into the Numbers Behind the Pandemic Trail Boom

by Matt Ainsley with Eco-Counter, Inc.

As the summer unfolds, park and trail managers across North America are preparing for yet another recording breaking season. While it is too early to make definitive calls about the state of pandemic trail boom and future volumes on trails and in parks, early analyses suggest the boom is alive and well. During this unprecedented time, automated count data serves as a crucial tool to track changes, understand use, and make the work of trail managers just a little bit easier.