Trail Design and Consulting
When the popularity of local recreational amenities are ranked, trails and trail systems almost always top the list, and by a wide margin. Access to a high-quality system of trails for self-powered recreation and fitness is central to the lives of numerous healthy, active people. While physical fitness is a primary benefit of trails based exercise and recreation, being outside and connecting with nature; the fun and challenge of the self-powered trail based sports of mountain biking, walking and trail running; and the stress relief and mind-clearing therapy offered by these activities are also part of why trails are so important. My passion is to design amazing trails by blending a client’s vision and my experience with the unique character of each locale.
In the past, trails were typically a means to an end; a way to get to a certain view point or a fantastic waterfall or to a high alpine lake. The quality of the trail experience en route to the destination wasn’t considered much. Mountain biking, more than anything, changed the way we think about trails. The best trails now still may take us to amazing places but they also have been purposefully designed to offer an enjoyable experience along the way; the trail itself is fun to be on. Designing high-quality trails requires experience and a keen eye but there are other considerations, too.
Generally, there are limited resources available for trails and trail construction. Trails, like roads, lend themselves to extravagant engineering challenges, for example, a switchback carved into a steep hillside. But in most cases, design options and alignments exist that render such inessential. Unless it is requested or mutually agreed to be necessary, I won’t design trail features or sections that are highly engineered or costly to build. From my experience, the best trails are those that are the least intrusive and in harmony with the natural state of an area.
Also relevant are trails that need little or no maintenance. The primary enemy of trails is water erosion and yesterday’s trail designs battled this erosion by employing engineered solutions, the maintenance intensive water bar being the most common. Ongoing trail maintenance can be drastically reduced, nearly eliminated in fact, by effective design and construction.
Use the Contact form on this website to arrange for a consultation that will get your project heading down the right trail!
Current clients include:
Las Rosadas
Jalisco, Mexico
Canyon Ridge
Chama, New Mexico
