American Trails

​​Foundations of Sustainable Trails: Hydrology

Summary

​​Learn the basics of constructing and maintaining sustainable trails that function within the hydrology of their environment. You will learn about hydrology as the behavior of water over, under, and through the land, and you will learn some best practices for working with, rather than against, the trail’s hydrological setting.​

Overview

The Foundations of Sustainable Trails: Hydrology course is an introductory course targeted to developing trail workers. This course serves as an introduction and overview to understanding how water impacts the design and maintenance of sustainable trails. Topics include muddiness and soil loss, drainage, and design strategies such as grade reversals, outsloping and insloping for minimizing hydrological impacts.

This course was developed jointly by American Trails and the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands at Indiana University.

Course Schedule

• Interactive practice activities
• Learn More opportunities
• Supplemental reference materials
• Informal checks for understanding
• Final quiz

Course Chapters: ​​

• Water, Water Everywhere
• Directing Drainage
• Tools of the Trade
• If You Can't Go Through It
• Hydrology in Maintenance

Course Objectives

Be able to:

• ​​​​​​​Explain how knowledge of hydrology in trail planning and design will result in a more sustainable trail.
• Identify and describe best practices for designs that "get the water out of the trail."​

Recommended Background

This is an introductory course for developing trail workers. These include individuals who may have limited formal experience in construction or maintenance—but are eager to learn!

We encourage all enrollees of Foundations of Sustainable Trails courses to first complete the microlearning: Foundations of Sustainable Trails: A Trail from Start to Finish.

Trail Types Covered

General. All trail types are relevant.