BUILDING your own trail

[campforums]

For those of you who are avid mountain bikers and live out in a rural area this might be an exciting project to undertake. It gives you a basic guide about how to build a trail from scratch (clearing shrubs, dirt/gravel, jumps, bridges, maintenance, etc.)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Bulid-a-Mountain-Bike-Trail/

I would love to try something like this sometime, but I don't have the property/place to do it unfortunately

 

[R. Zimm]

Looks like a team effort to make it happen in a reasonable time but that would make it more fun, wouldn't it? I have dreamed of having some land to do something like this for a long time. I don't know if I'll every make it but the dream still lives!

 

[campforums]

Looks like a team effort to make it happen in a reasonable time but that would make it more fun, wouldn't it? I have dreamed of having some land to do something like this for a long time. I don't know if I'll every make it but the dream still lives!

Summer project perhaps?

 

[Mr. Blue]

I've actually been to different trails where other people have opened pathways, cleared the roads, and even left signs. Random people leaving signs was shocking to me, unfortunately I only saw it once. People make it very safe and pleasant when they do that, so I am always very happy. There was an area next to me where I walked with my bike slowly creating a trail. After it was finished I rode around it, I was very pleased with the trail because I had spent a lot of time working on it. There would be plenty of days where I would go on it multiple times. I have not been on that trail for many months. I hope it's not trashed.

 

[R. Zimm]

Well I'm not going to build a trail on public or private land since I really would not have the right or permission to do so. If there is a large tract of vacant land near you and you feel you can do that then great! Otherwise I'll have to wait until I own a few acres to build a trail.

 

[2sweed]

Another idea in building a trail using the natural forest method is to just clear up a section of deer trails. The trails are usually used often and packed down well, making them easy to locate. I would say using the trail for hiking or nature walks would be better than running dirt bikes over it, but deer trails lead in all directions that a hiker or backpacker might wish to explore.

Deer go up along hillsides to mountain top views. They go to streams and rivers. They cut through open areas like fields and meadows. I have hiked along many deer trails and found new camping sites, as well as, beaver dams and woodland meadows. To build your own trail would be as easy as trimming back a few branches and removing or cutting through fallen trees.

 

[campforums]

Another idea in building a trail using the natural forest method is to just clear up a section of deer trails. The trails are usually used often and packed down well, making them easy to locate. I would say using the trail for hiking or nature walks would be better than running dirt bikes over it, but deer trails lead in all directions that a hiker or backpacker might wish to explore.

Deer go up along hillsides to mountain top views. They go to streams and rivers. They cut through open areas like fields and meadows. I have hiked along many deer trails and found new camping sites, as well as, beaver dams and woodland meadows. To build your own trail would be as easy as trimming back a few branches and removing or cutting through fallen trees.

Its true that there are many paths used by animals which you can bike or hike along but sometimes the way they are shaped makes them unsuitable for certain things.

Like you said deer go over all sorts of terrain and I find that many of these trails stop abruptly or go through streams or along severely sloped hillsides which makes them difficult or impossible to mountain bike on. Also there can be obstacles like branches and sharp turns which aren't much fun when you're biking.

 

[AurelioLeo]

Making your own trail from scratch could be a very time consuming project. You would need tools and people to assist you on this endeavor. I think the finally result would be very satisfying.

 

[Anons123]

I have fields in my town that have trails already its open to the public. And there is prime jumps out there

 

[bigteeth96]

I already have some trails around my area, but I think that's a pretty cool wilderness project to take part in. I think one of the trails I used to frequent was made by someone I know.

 

[Profit5500]

Making your own trail from scratch could be a very time consuming project. You would need tools and people to assist you on this endeavor. I think the finally result would be very satisfying.

It does make it seem like a group effort but then its good since everyone could work together. If there is a good road and it can be used hope that it does not lead you to some crazies house LOL.

 

[happyflowerlady]

I like the idea of using a deer trail, and maybe cutting back some of the branches as needed. When I used to go out horseback riding in the woods, we often followed the old deer trails. As we went along, we broke off any branches that were hitting us or the horses, and after a few times of riding along that trail, most of the most worrisome brush would be gone, and we could ride through the trail without getting smacked in the face with a fir bough.

Then, there is always the possibility of just following the trail as it is, or working your way along your own trail. My son and grandsons like to do that. They love to go up into the mountains and just spend the day hiking up there, and taking pictures, of course.

Here is a picture of one of their explorations along Roman Nose peak last summer. You can see that there was still snow left at the top. The arrows show where they hiked to, basically rapelled down the steep sides, and then slid down the snowy parts of the mountain.

 

[Northern Dancer]

We had a base camp in Bracebridge and we developed/built a trail to circle our camp site.
We surveyed the best route.
Used trail tape to border/mark our clearing.
Started by taking out the rocks and clearing the roots and raking the debris.
Then we brought in a heavy duty lawnmower and within a day we had complete circle [for the most part] and put up a sign - Coureurs de Bois - Runners of the Woods.