Trail Project
Life Cycle

 

Photo: Progresive Trail Design

 Introduction

This web resource provides an overview of the elements of a trail project life cycle in general, but processes vary depending on scope, complexity, and management regimes.

 Planning

The trail planning process depends on the scope and scale of the project, land manager, and permitting requirements.  The list below does not necessarily apply to all projects; it includes competencies as described in the Project Planning and Design category of the Trail Competency Framework.

Conceptual Trail Plan

Conceptual trail plan identifies trail corridor, site-specific trail specifications and matches the project need, purpose and resources. 

Define Purpose, Need, and Feasibility of Project
Use primary data (e.g., stakeholder outreach, trail use data, trail counters) and secondary data (e.g., planning documents, natural and cultural resource survey information, and site-specific resource limitations including soils, hydrology, geology, slope) to define the purpose of the proposed project, the need that it will meet, and its feasibility

Stakeholder Engagement
Identify stakeholders from interested individuals, agencies, and organizations to inform an outreach strategy and engage stakeholders in a transparent, authentic, and meaningful way

Land Use Plan Alignment
Identify elements of the general management, forest, or comprehensive resource management plans as they relate to the trail project.

Corridor Planning
Collect, analyze and integrate spatial- and field-collected data to identify potential areas (broad corridors) that meet the project purpose and need, and establish potential areas of avoidance

Trail Specifications (or guidelines)
Identify trail specifications (i.e. tread surface, trail width, trail corridor height, grades, cross slope, turning radius, obstacles/protrusions, and structures) that match the project purpose, need, and resources

Trail Master Plan

Trail planning document that will guide the trail development process including the conceptual trail plan, field-delineated trail design (location, alignment, structures), along with construction process, materials, notes, special conditions, etc.

Field Design: Trail Alignment Identification and Marking
Delineate the trail alignment, width, height, grade and structures appropriate to the intended trail use in the field with field flagging and GPS (more detail below)

Project Cost Estimation
Estimate the cost of project construction, maintenance and related oversight, permitting and planning including tools, consumables, volunteer and staff time, contractors and consultants, equipment, materials

 Trail Design

Conceptual Trail Plan
- System Level
- GIS/Digital Based with limited scouting

Field Design
- Review and permit ready 
- Field designed and flagged
- GPS data

Final Design
- Construction ready 

Thanks to Jeremy Wimpey, Applied Trails Research for these graphics.

 Permitting

  • Same related permitting and approvals that other land disturbance projects go through

  • Complexity and requirement scale with project size and components

  • Typical 2-6 month window for state/local level permits

  • Likely needed on projects >1 acre of disturbance, roughly 2-5 miles of typical natural surface trail

Calculation: How much trail totals one acre?

Conversions:
1 acre = 43,560 square feet
1 mile = 5,280 feet

Miles of trail in one acre = 43,560 sq ft divided by 5,280 ft divided by width of trail tread in ft

Example: 4 foot wide trail
43,560/5,280/4 = 2.1 miles of trail

Types of permits that may apply to trail development

County and Statewide Permits

  • Erosion & Sediment Control/E&SC

  • Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan/SWPPP

  • Wildlife/Natural Heritage Regulations

  • Archeological/Cultural/Historic Resource Protection

Federal: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a law that requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impact of their actions before making decisions. The NEPA process includes: 

  • Proposal development: A federal agency develops a proposal to take a major action. 

  • Environmental review: The agency assesses the environmental, social, and economic effects of the proposed action. This review can involve three levels of analysis: 

    • Categorical Exclusion determination (CE): A federal action may be "categorically excluded" from a detailed environmental analysis when the federal action is determined to not have a significant effect on the human environment.

    • Environmental Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact (EA/FONSI): If CE does not apply, an EA is prepared to provide evidence and analysis for determining whether to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or a finding of no significant impact (FONSI). An EA generally includes: project purpose and need; alternatives to proposed action; environmental impacts of proposed action and alternatives; a listing of agencies and persons consulted.

    • Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): An EIS is prepared if the EA process determines that it is needed. This is a more extensive review that analyzes the impacts of the proposed action and reasonable alternatives. An EIS is a full disclosure document that details the process through which a project was developed, includes consideration of a range of reasonable alternatives, analyzes the potential impacts resulting from the alternatives, and demonstrates compliance with other applicable environmental laws and executive orders.

  • Public comment

    The agency provides opportunities for the public to review and comment on the environmental review. Public comment is part of both the EA and EIS process.

  • Record of Decision (ROD)

    After the analysis and public comment period, the agency prepares a Record of Decision that outlines the necessary actions and decision to proceed with the proposal. 

Federal: US Army Corps of Engineers

Corps permits are a necessary for any work in the Nation's navigable waters which includes wetlands and streams.

The Corps issues two types of permits:

  • Nationwide permits: These are for projects with minimal environmental impact.

  • Individual permits: These are for projects that could have a more significant impact. 

Permitting Compliance

Compliance - E&SC, SWPPP

  • Adhere to approved plan which can include:

    • Trail specifications & implications

    • Trail construction best practices

    • Stabilization of disturbed soils

    • Avoidance of water/wetlands

    • Mitigation of potential impacts

    • Restoration of ground cover

  • Notify agency when/if issues arise

  • Regular weekly site monitoring/documentation 

  • Post-storm event monitoring

 Compliance – NEPA

  • Adhere to direction in the FONSI or CE after conclusion of the NEPA process

 Compliance - Army Corps of Engineers

  • Notify Corps of Engineers in permit conditions not met

 Construction

Trail construction is guided by the planning process including field-delineated trail design (location, alignment, structures), construction process, permit compliance, materials, notes, special conditions, and specifications (corridor height/width, tread width, cross/outslope, protrusions, obstacles, and compaction.) Below, key elements of the trail construction process are highlighted.

Corridor Clearing/Site Preparation

Once approvals are in place, trail construction can begin starting with clearing the corridor and preparing the site.

  • Remove rocks, stumps, and debris from identified trail corridor clearing limits

  • Prune and brush the corridor meeting clearing specifications/guidelines

  • Fell, brush, buck and limb logs within the tread corridor

  • Material and debris management 

When clearing corridor and preparing the site:

  • Use proper PPE and maintain a safe work site

  • Be prepared with required or recommended training (i.e. chainsaw safety and certification)

  • Use the right tool for the job (hand tools vs mechanized tools)

 Trail Construction with Hand Tools

Photo: Singletrack Trails + Tools for Trails

Hand tools are used by all crews whether solely (Wilderness, volunteers, youth corps) or in conjunction with mechanized equipment (focus on finishwork).

McLeods, hoes, pick mattocks, Pulaskis, shovels, rakes, and prying bars are the primary tools for building full-bench cut trail. Below some typical tools are matched to their ‘job’:

  • McLeod – shape and compact the trail tread

  • Hoe – loosen and remove soil

  • Pick Mattock - light prying and digging

  • Pulaski – loosen soil and cut roots

  • Shovel - scooping and broadcasting soils or aggregate

  • Rake - smoothing tread and dispersing materials

  • Prying Bars – loosening and moving rocks and stumps

Mechanized Trail Construction

Photo: OBP Trailworks

It takes experience and time to become a skilled machine operator - and buying and maintaining equipment is expensive. Entry level crew members should know how to work safely around mechanized equipment and to operate basic mechanized equipment (e.g. mechanized wheelbarrow, plate compactor, tracked dumper). An expert trailbuilder can utilize a suite of mechanized equipment and techniques to construct trail in different types of terrain, soils and ground conditions while demonstrating precision with equipment tasks without any unintended off-trail impacts.  

Below, we will outline different types of equipment including pros and cons.

Mini-Excavators

Pros:

  • Rotates 360 degrees

    • Track does not have to turn around 

    • Can access material below the trail

    • Zero tail swing works well on steep sideslopes 

  • Hydraulic thumb enables placing rocks

  • Easily moves debris away from trail tread

  • Good at cutting and shaping backslope 

  • Efficiently removes organic material separately from dirt, rocks, etc. 

  • Variety of attachments/modifications available (ripper, thumb, post hole auger, turbo kits, teeth)

  • Not terrain-limited

    • Good on flat to steep slopes

    • organic to rocky soils

    • Less limited in muddy conditions than the dozer


Cons:

  • Expensive to own and operate 

  • Relatively light & low horsepower

  • Higher center of gravity makes it less stable than a dozer

  • Slower production rates by digging instead of pushing/sculpting 

  • Lots of exposed hoses and cylinders on most models 

  • Not specifically designed for trail building 

  • Requires skilled operators 

  • Requires regular maintenance

  • Slower trail construction productivity

  • Regular break downs and needs in-field repairs

Video: Singletrack Trails

Photo: Allegra Trails

Trail Dozers

Video: Tony Boone Trails

Photo: 2023 Mechanized Training, Trails Unlimited

Pros:

  • Heavy and Powerful

  • Has moderate travel speeds

  • Cuts bench easily and quickly

  • The low center of gravity makes it very stable

  • Tight Turning Radius

  • Off-trail travel is possible with minimum damage if not turning

Cons:

  • Expensive to own and operate

  • Can’t push debris very far below trail without ground impacts

  • Can’t dig a borrow pit as fast as an excavator

  • Challenged in flat slopes or “soft” soils

  • Not great at cutting and shaping backslopes

  • Mixes organic matter and mineral soil together in spoils/berm

  • Requires skilled operators

  • Requires regular maintenance and often specialized tools and shop access

Best Terrain

  • 25 -75% slope

  • Low to High Rock Content

  • Rock and Mineral-based soils

Limitations

  • High Clay soils when wet

  • High Organic Matter Soils

  • Low slope environments (i.e. less than 15%)

  • Shallow or sloped bedrock (may need additional machine to prep passage)

Other Mechanized Equipment

OBP Trailworks Machines Overview (12 minutes)

Tread Compaction

  • Drum roller

  • Plate Compactor

Material transport

  • Mechanized wheelbarrow

  • Tracked dumper

  • Crawler carrier

  • Compact track loader

People transport

  • ATV’s

  • UTVs

  • Motorcycles

Maintenance + Management

Land manager or Agency is responsible for ongoing maintenance on a trail. Professionally built trail should be sustainable and maintainable.

Photo: Trailworks Biketrails and Wanderwege

Typical Maintenance Tasks

Most maintenace tasks on narrow natural surface trail are conducted with hand tools.

  • Corridor clearing

    • pruning + brushing vegetation in corridor

    • hazard tree removal (expert level skill)

    • Clearing tread of fallen logs (expert level skill)

    • Leaf Blowing

  • Construct/restore trail drainage features that decrease erosion and increase sheet flow

    • knicks

    • grade reversals

    • rolling grade dips

    • berms

    • ditches

    • sheet drains

  • Speciality feature maintenance

    • Dirt Jump shaping

    • Bridge repair

Guided by Operations and Maintenance Plan (O&M) which can include:

  • Specifications

  • Maintenance Assessment Schedule + Protocol 

  • Trail open/close protocol

  • Incident Response Protocol 

  • Risk Management Plan

  • Staff Training plan

  • Event protocol

Successful trail maintenance programs need:

  • Staff capacity

  • Staff with trail-specific knowledge

  • Volunteer capacity

  • Stewardship development and training