Downed trees. Leaves, pinecones, and nuts. Encroaching branches or vines. These are just some of the obstacles I encounter while riding my local trails. But is it okay for riders like me to remove them or should it be left to the professionals?
To help clarify where the boundary lies between trail edits riders can make and ones only professional trail builders should make, I spoke with Nat Lopes with Hillride Progression Development Group, LLC, a mountain bike trail consultation group, which has had its hands in various bike parks across the country.
Lopes’ views come from his experiences as both a rider and a trail builder
Lopes is as passionate about riding as he is about trail building. Photo: Rachael Faye.
Lopes has 15 years of project management experience developing bike parks, trails, and destination riding areas and has taught sustainable bike park and trail design in all 50 states and throughout Canada for IMBA. The National Recreation and Parks Association recognized his work on Griffin Bike Park in Terre Haute, Indiana by awarding it the 2017 National Park Design of the Year.
As a trail builder, Lopes works directly with land management agencies including the National Park Services, U.S. Forest Service, Army Corps of Engineers, and the Bureau of Land Management. He also deals with organizations, volunteers, sponsors, and foundations to plan, fund, and develop projects across the country.
For Lopes, natural forces dictate when trail edits should be made
According to Lopes, three forces influence changes and maintenance of a trail. “Every trail is an integrated part of the landscape and is by definition under a constant state of change due to the forces of erosion, deposition, and encroachment,” he said.
Rainfall causes impact erosion to trails, creating millions of micro-craters that break up the soil. From there, “fallen and accumulated rain and melted snow begin to flow, creating turbulent erosion that transports loose dirt, rock, and detritus downhill.” Additionally, trail usage also creates erosion by putting constant pressure on the trail.
While erosion wears away trails, deposition fills them with debris. “The landscape contributes a never-ending stream of biomass. Trees discharge leaves, fruits, nuts, seeds and pollens seasonally. Additionally, wind, rain, and snowstorms deposit and accumulate downed trees and broken limbs on the trails.”
Meanwhile, vegetation threatens to engulf trails from all sides. “Trails are under a constant state of encroachment,” said Lopes. “Pioneering vegetation is attracted to the light and open space of the trail. Vines, grasses, and shrubs take over and cover ground as quickly as possible. Trees blast out new shoots each season in an effort to extend their reach.”
Responsibility for maintenance should be determined before a trail is built
Lopes considers who will make future trail edits at the start of a project. “When I am involved with designing trails, trail systems, bike parks, and destination riding areas as a professional from the ground up, the project usually includes the development of an operations and maintenance (O&M) plan to ensure the facility is properly maintained after the initial construction phase has been completed.”
Lopes says a good O&M plan outlines the duties and responsibilities of all the parties involved in the project, including park staff, volunteers, and maintenance contractors. It also outlines the standards parties should follow for the maintenance and operation of the facility.
For some projects Lopes works on, a volunteer committee managed by a parks department or a stand-alone 501.c3 non-profit volunteer group will maintain the trails or park. In those cases, Lopes helps the parties create a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in addition to an O&M plan. The MOU helps guide the relationship between the parties.
“Between the O&M and the MOU everyone should know what they are responsible for and how things should be done.”
Government regulations and insurance considerations also affects maintenance
In Lopes’ experience, parks and recreation agencies in more populated areas generally have more restrictions on trail work. “In terms of power tools, volunteers can use weed whackers and mowers, but not chainsaws due to risk and liability. And sometimes volunteers can only use hand tools.”
The same goes for equipment and machinery. “Some agencies are ok with volunteers operating equipment, and, in some areas, volunteers are strictly prohibited for using any machines.”
The type of project and purpose of the trail also plays a role
Lopes mentioned that the design of a trail and its intended purpose dictates who can make edits to it. “For example, you would maintain a purpose-built old school raw XC trail totally differently than a new school super smooth, highly groomed flow trail. As a builder, the most important thing to me is that the project is maintained to the highest level possible and that everyone is working towards the same goal.”
Riders can make trail edits within certain limits
Lopes states that “maintaining a trail is an act of resistance against natural forces.” Riders can make trail edits on their own to preserve the trail and keep it safe for other riders.
Trimming back encroaching vegetation, removing debris, and cleaning out clogged drains are all acceptable and encouraged. Just know your local rules concerning the use of hand or power tools on the trail.
Lopes also encourages riders to address safety concerns they encounter on the trail. “I would hope that anyone who found an immediate safety risk on a trail would do what they could to mitigate it. And, if they cannot mitigate it, then try to block it off and report the problem to a trail manager.” Examples of such risks include jagged, downed tree limbs, broken ladder bridges, gaps in trails, rock falls, and even booby traps.
The only time riders should not make trail edits to mitigate risk is when there is a major safety concern for the riders themselves. “In areas where the forests are not in good health and there are a lot of dead standing trees that can fall or shed branches, trail managers would probably prefer you stayed safe and left it to them.”
Outside trail preservation or risk management, riders should not make trail edits. Lopes emphasizes the “no digging” rule. “It is a huge liability to have random people build, add or change trails or features without permission or a plan. If you are adding anything significant to a trail like a log pile, rock drop, or jump, then you should ask permission from the trail manager.”
To help make necessary edits, riders should consider carrying these tools when riding
Lopes encourages all riders to help maintain their local trails. “Every trail needs maintenance and love to keep it tip top and awesome. You can make it happen by figuring out how to volunteer with your trail manager or offer your services as seasonal help in areas where land managers need to partner with contractors to maintain the trails.”
To help with trail maintenance, Lopes suggests riders consider carrying certain tools with them on rides, or at least have them available for trail workdays. Specifically, he listed four hand tools that are great for making needed trail edits: a 10″ folding pruning saw, hand-held pruners, a folding pruner, and a pocket chainsaw.
Each tool has its strength. “A 10” folding saw fits easily in a hydration pack and cuts through pretty much anything you might want to tackle during a ride.”
Hand-held pruners can trim shoots, small branches, and vines. Folding pruners can tackle bigger branches. However, they are more cumbersome for riders to carry. Some pocket chainsaws can cut up to 40” in diameter, which makes them a great tool for taking out bigger trees and logs.
Trail edits are necessary to maintain the condition of trails
Trail builders spend a lot of time and effort designing and building great trails. They have the knowledge and experience to know what grading to use and where to route a trail based on the environment it is built in. Riders can, and are often expected to, make trail edits to help preserve a trail and mitigate risk, but they should never make them for personal reasons.
If you’re not sure you can make a specific trail edit, talk to your local bike club. They are an excellent resource and will provide you with ample guidance on the issue.
Good article thanks!
I’d like to add a friendly reminder: Dumbing down trail features is not acceptable. Leave the rocks etc there. A smoother trail isn’t always the goal and often the rocks help preserve the trail during major rain. Thanks.
Yes. here in the Atlanta area there seem to be a lot of people that like to cut corners or change a little curving trail part into a straight line or otherwise dumb down a trail. I don’t get it; when I first started mtn biking we sought out technical aspects, now people just want to make it easier (or faster so they can get their Strava KOM maybe)
Great point! That is an absolute no-no. Trails are intentionally designed with a number of things in mind including impact to nature and sustainability. Tampering with that design can cause a number of issues, from rider safety to habitat destruction.
AMEN Brotha (or sista). Recently a group on a work day with our local bike club got a little carried away and dumbed down a black diamond trail I ride a lot. They literally turned a section of it from black to green . . . .
That’s unfortunate. I am sure the volunteers put their hearts into the work. When that happens it’s usually the leader or associations fault and not the volunteers by not being able to properly identify the type of trail, its users and its character. These are big factors that are largely not thought about when doing trail work. its takes experience, being very familiar with the areas trails and good leadership during the work to ensure that everything is done well and will last.
Hilariously, or embarrassingly, or maybe just a human trait, it seems like popular trails are smoother and easier, while mountain bikes have become more and more capable of traversing challenging and rougher terrain more easily. I’m pretty sure many folks exclusively ride their 160mm travel bikes with $1500 forks and sophisticated rear linkage designs with multi-valved mutli-speed adjustable shocks on dead-smooth flow trails. Sure, many folks ride the black and double-black chunk, and I love the trick technology. But it does seem like a lot of the big travel bike tech ain’t used for what its designed for. Then again, I am an old man who often yells at clouds. FYI, these days I exclusively ride a fairly tricked-out shredtail, because it fits what I like to ride.
Some of our local trails have workstations scattered around that allow riders to do trail work. When they first started appearing I thought that it was a great idea. The result has been that trails have been dumbed down. Rocks and logs that have been fun features and require a small amount of skill to navigate are now gone. It’s a real shame.
From my POV, it’s not ok to alter a trail in any way without permission of the landowner, organization managing the trail network, or specific individual responsible for the trail. I think that’s true in nearly all situations. Even simple things like trimming brush or trees should be vetted through the responsible parties. Most trail stewardship organizations have volunteer trail days and specific people responsible to do such work on their own, with ways you can become one of them. That said, there may be exceptional situations where it makes sense to deal with a hazard or critical issue, especially on a back-country trail where it’s unlikely anyone will get to it anytime soon. But don’t do it if you truly don’t know what you’re doing or it’s dangerous (f.e. a fallen snag that’s hung-up in its neighbors). It’s especially egregiously bad to alter a trail feature because you think it’s too hard for you, or you just happen to personally like a “smoother” trail. Maybe the builder kept that feature in specifically, and who the heck made you the trail god. Enjoy the trail and help out via the organizations that makes trails happen.
Great points. Thanks for the comments.
Or unless you need a smoother trail to get that KOM!
Obvious trail edits aside, another less obvious edit is leaf blowing. For trails in frost zones, heaving can occur and damage the tread when it is left exposed by leaf blowing: https://youtu.be/u5Onv1q7iys
Moreso, leaf blowing can attribute to rougher trails and increased water damage from rainfall: https://www.arkansasoutside.com/leaf-it-be/
Leaf blowing has advantages such as revealing obstacles (sniper roots, dips, small ledges), improving speed (it’s debatable) and keeping newcomers on the trail. Personally, I prefer the leaves to remain over the winter. Tend to them in the spring, if necessary. Here’s Singletracks’ survey: https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-trails/fall-trail-maintenance-rake-the-leaves-or-leave-them-be-survey/
Leaf blowers are godsend to keep the drains open during the winter storms and thus keeping the trails drier.
Thanks for the info on that.
Somewhere I read that a club was using the principle the closer it was to the population center the more green they would have (or blue/black with green bypasses). I think this is a good compromise, serious riders are more likely willing to trek to ride their harder trails. Inexperienced people probably won’t. It’s harder to manage the balance on a busy trail system.
That club is misguided. Punishing advanced riders by making them expend more resources to access interesting trails is not cool.
Blah blah blah.
1. Is the issue that would be “edited” (0_o) a clear safety issue, and can you resolve the safety issue safely? If yes, then do it.
2. Is the issue something that, for the average rider for that trail’s difficulty level, would cause riders to make a line choice that could cause a trail sustainability issue such as a bypass that doesn’t already exist, and can you safely make the fix? If yes, then do it.
3. If no to 1 or 2, don’t.
The only time these questions should be a decision point for a rider is when the rider is very familiar with the trail in question and comes upon some change in the trail – a downed tree, a washout, a booby trap, etc – and not something like overgrowth from lack of use. In the latter case, or if you’re new to the trail, notify the local trails group and leave it alone, with the exception of clear booby traps.
If it’s a multi use trail you have to consider the POV of the other trail user groups about how a trail is managed.
A multi use trail is NOT a mountain bike trail. But rather a trail that mountain bikers are allowed to access by land mgt.
Bandit trail building is a huge issue on locally volunteer maintained trail systems. And guess who the land mgr’s have that unpleasant discussion with when bandit trail building is discovered on a multi use trail system ? Not fun.