
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.
Understand and apply principles of trail sustainability to all components of trail maintenance
Plan and manage the trail maintenance site to meet safety and resource protection goals and requirements
Understand and apply common maintenance specifications, including corridor height/width, tread width, cross/outslope, protrusions, obstacles, and water management techniques
Clear the corridor and prepare the site (brushing, logging out, hazard tree removal, rock/stump removal) in preparation for maintenance using proper pruning techniques
Use pruning and brushing techniques to maximize safety, minimize visual impacts and support healthy trailside vegetation
Felling, brushing, bucking and limbing logs of various sizes safely using proper, well-maintained equipment
Materials and debris removal from corridor using low impact techniques, according to project and resource protection requirements
Using hand tools, maintain a trail to its designed specifications for tread width, cross/outslope, protrusions, and obstacles using hand tools and minimizes off trail impacts
Safely use mechanized trail equipment (e.g., mini-excavators, skid steers, trail dozers, compactors) to maintain trail to meet maintenance specifications for tread width, cross/outslope, protrusions and obstacles and minimizes off trail impacts
Construct/restore trail drainage features that decrease erosion and increase sheet flow, including knicks, grade reversals, rolling grade dips, berms, ditches, and sheet drains
Documents and Media
• Video Trainings
• Training Programs
• Calendar
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To help our volunteers succeed in their trail work, PCTA collaborated with many partners to develop a Trail Skills College curriculum.
A handbook on trail work, from landscape values to the nitty-gritty of moving rock.
The definitive guide for the planning, designing, constructing, managing and maintaining Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) trails.
A compilation of best practices and guidelines for the planning, design, construction, and management of your trail employing sustainable design.
This book examines all phases of planning, designing, building, and operating these facilities, with real-world success stories and multiple essays provided by leaders in the field.
In addition to conservation crew leadership and risk management, Lightly on the Land presents the nuts and bolts of trail construction and maintenance.
Trail Skills Training Library
With the increasing public demand for native plants and a push to find alternatives, learn from one landscape architect’s experience developing prairies in a variety of environments.
This webinar aims to introduce you to the fundamentals of managing a sustainable horse farm. This is part two of a two-part series related to sustainability.
This webinar focuses on lessons learned from removing over 1,000 bumps from an 18-mile paved trail.
Hosted in partnership with the Equine Land Conservation Resource, this webinar aims to introduce you to the fundamentals of managing a sustainable horse farm. This is part one of a two-part series related to sustainability.
This webinar will explore the process of assessing natural surface pedestrian trails for accessibility and sustainability and will focus on developing new trails as well as conversion of existing trails.
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…
Further Education
This school is typically two days in length with IMBA instructor(s) traveling to your location to deliver the class to staff or members. Instructors arrive the day before to assess the site and do any necessary preparations. Organizations, clubs, or…
Trail Care Schools equip volunteers and organizations with the skills necessary to maintain modern mountain bike trails in partnership with the local land management. This course will begin with sustainable trail design principles, such as drainage…
In this one-year certificate program, you’ll have boots-on-the-ground at Northwoods Stewardship Center in East Charleston, VT for three individual week-long intensive classes. You will grow your knowledge base and connect with trail building…
Trail Academy is our free class series that teaches students how to tackle any trail-related challenge. Courses are hosted both in the field and online, and are a great starting point for anyone looking to become a certified Trail Crew Leader or…
The Trail Sustainability Institute (TSI) is NWTA’s internal training classes for everything related to trail building. We want to make sure our trail builders are knowledgeable in not only how to build/maintain fun trails, but ensure those trails…
Gain insight into best practices related to the design, construction and maintenance of trails. Learn about and apply techniques that can enhance, rehabilitate and protect trails and greenways. Participants will also learn about trail…
Skill Library
Training Calendar
April 24 - 25, 2025
Old Fort, North Carolina
Custom Trainings