Field Design: Trail Alignment Identification and Marking

Skill Definition

Delineate the trail alignment, width, height, grade and structures appropriate to the intended trail use in the field with field flagging and GPS

Entry Level Performance

Demonstrate ability to use a clinometer and apply to trail sustainability principles
Demonstrate ability to follow the broad trail corridor in the field
Demonstrate ability to identify positive and negative control points within a trail corridor

Full Performance Level

Delineate the detailed trail alignment in the field (field flagging and/or GPS) integrating a suite of trail development components including: trail center line and feature location; turn location, size and type; location and type of water/wetland crossings; optimization of soil and slope field conditions; and other trail components defined in the conceptual plan

Expert Level Performance

Create site-based design, compilation and specifications for the full suite of trail development components for a large and/or diverse trail system

Resources for Field Design: Trail Alignment Identification and Marking

Documents and Media • Video Trainings • Training Programs
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Documents and Media for Field Design: Trail Alignment Identification and Marking

Sustainable Trail Bridge Design

Designing trail bridges based on trail-specific Trail Management Objectives (TMOs) is essential for providing the desired trail experience, for ensuring user safety, and for maximizing bridge longevity.

Trail Skills College Course Curriculum

To help our volunteers succeed in their trail work, PCTA collaborated with many partners to develop a Trail Skills College curriculum.

USFS Standard Trail Plans and Specifications

The Standard Trail Plans and Specifications reflect current Forest Service trail management efforts and the agency’s Trails Data Dictionary for constructed features and tasks.

Appalachian Trail Design, Construction, and Maintenance

A handbook on trail work, from landscape values to the nitty-gritty of moving rock.

Guidelines for a Quality Trail Experience

In the context of mountain bike trails, excellence is realized when a trail design merges the desired outcomes and difficulty that a rider seeks with the setting in which the outcomes are realized.

Natural Surface Trails by Design

This groundbreaking book presents eleven generative concepts as the foundation for a concise process that explains, relates, and predicts what actually happens on all natural surface trails.

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Trail Skills Training Library

Recorded Trainings for Field Design: Trail Alignment Identification and Marking

The Third Mode: Connecting Greenways, Trails and Active Mobility

his webinar covers the latest issues and policies in planning and designing urban mobility networks, and how to integrate transportation with greenways and trails to create seamless metro-wide systems.

Trail Planning and Design: Foundations of Success

This webinar will review several common approaches and technologies for trail planning and design projects and provide attendees with real world examples.

Digital Transformation of Trail Management and Monitoring

Mike Linnane of Evolve Technologies and award-winning Trail Manager Eoin Hogan will present on the development path of the world’s first integrated digital trail management system. The webinar will outline the evolution from a paper-based trail…

Porous Flexible Pavement, Asphalt, or Porous Asphalt: Lessons Learned for Multi-Use Trails in the District of Columbia

This webinar will discuss the various types of materials used for paved, multi-use trails in the District of Columbia. We will discuss different projects where we used flexi-pave, asphalt, or porous asphalt and our experience with each material. How…

Informing the Trail Experience: The Process of Signing a Trail

The webinar emphasizes learning about the trail and to determine what needs to be communicated, and where information is best posted.

Wilderness Trails: Special Places, Special Considerations.

This webinar will provide some basic information on trails in federally-designated Wilderness, examples of practical experiences, and resources to learn more. Presented by: Pete Irvine, retired, USDA Forest Service Dan Abbe, Wilderness Specialist,…

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Further Education