Trail Maintenance

Trail Maintenance Skills Include:

    Maintenance Specifications

    Understand and apply common maintenance specifications/trail management objectives such as corridor height/width, tread width, cross/outslope, protrusions, obstacles, and water management techniques.

    Inventory & Assessment

    Demonstrate ability to assess trail conditions, identify causes of trail degradation (i.e. water, grades, soil conditions, users, and/or use patterns), and appropriate actions to address the deficiencies.

    Corridor Clearing: Power tools

    Safely use chainsaws and other power tools in trail development and maintenance and resource management.

    Corridor clearing: Hand Tools

    Use hand tools to safely remove small standing trees, hazard trees, fallen logs, brush, vegetation, rocks, or other impediments to trail tread construction to the specified trail corridor width and height.

    Tread Maintenance - Hand tools

    Restore trail to its designed specifications for tread width, cross/outslope, protrusions, and obstacles using hand tools.

    Tread Maintenance - Mechanized Equipment

    Mechanized Equipment. Restore trail to its designed specifications for tread width, cross/outslope, protrusions, and obstacles using mechanized equipment (e.g., compactors, mini-excavator, skid steer, trail dozer).

    Drainage Features/Water Management

    Construct/restore trail drainage features that decrease erosion , including knicks, grade dips, grade reversals, berms, ditches, and sheet drains.


Learn More

Resources for Trail Maintenance

Improve this skill

Upcoming trainings for Trail Maintenance

Real Trail Assessment: Seeing the Trail Through the Eyes of a Professional
American Trails
American Trails
Backcountry Rigging Techniques
Professional TrailBuilders Association
Professional TrailBuilders Association
Backcountry Rigging Techniques

April 21, 2023

Reno/Tahoe area, Nevada

Custom Trainings

Here's a list of Trainers with Trail Maintenance experience:

Charlotte

Charlotte Staats

Adirondack Mountain Club

Contractor Trainer Nonprofit

Lake Placid, Ny

I am a seasoned trail builder who has worked on trails in New York State since 2015. I've worked…

Sarah

Sarah Walter

Penn Trails LLC

Contractor Trainer

Carlisle, Pa

Sarah is a licensed Landscape Architect in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, with prior experience in…

Landon

Landon Welsh

Pacific Crest Trail Association

Trainer Nonprofit

Seattle, Wa

Volunteer Training Coordinator for the Pacific Crest Trail Association-- planning trail-wide…

Hire

Trail Workers with Trail Maintenance Experience

Mariah

Mariah Keagy

Sinuosity

Contractor
Don

Don Kelly

USDA Forest Service

Trainer Agency

Marion, Va

I have over 32 years of experience performing conservation, trails, and construction related…

Josh

Josh Kloehn

Appalachian Trail Conservancy

Nonprofit
Larry

Larry Knutson

Penn Trails LLC

Contractor Trainer

Newville, Pa

Larry Knutson, founder and President of Penn Trails LLC, specializes in sustainable, natural…

Greg

Greg Kopsch

Higher Education
Steve

Steve Kruger

Trainer Nonprofit

Portland, Or

Steve has worked in parks and natural areas for nearly 20 years, around San Francisco, Milwaukee,…

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Collaborators
Federal Highway Administration USDA Forest Service National Park Service Bureau of Land Management
American Trails Professional TrailBuilders Association Partnership for the National Trails System Northern Vermont University Northwest Arkansas Community College Eppley Institute Corps Network