Trail Rotation, Why I think we should be doing this…

Trail Closure in Barron County, Wisconsin

As off-roaders, we deal with and understand why trails are closed, from trail washouts due to flooding or other types of storm damage or complaints from locals, we come across various closures at different times of the year. It’s part of what makes off-roading interesting in a way, the unknown, if you will.

Low use trail in North Dakota

If a trail is closed for long enough, nature begins to take back what we used as a trail, in most cases, the vegetation comes back even thicker than before. I liken it to forest fires, they ravage an area, only to allow for new growth to take over and the area is healthier for it. A trail is kind of the same thing, only on a much smaller scale, while the trails are usually gravel paths, the gravel can be moved, so why are they not done a regular basis?

Trail being taken back due to little use, in Michigan.

I understand it takes a lot of money to build trails, believe it or not these ohv trails have standards that they are built to, so I understand it takes time and money to move a trail but this could be done every decade or so, it doesn’t have to be every couple years. I think it’s well worth the effort, I think, because it’s two-fold…

1. The trail gets moved and the vegetation grows back better.

I have seen this time and time again here in Wisconsin, trails get closed for various reasons and within a short period of time, usually that same year, the vegetation grows back, concealing the “old” trails. Like there never even was a trail through that area.

2. The riders get a different experience in the same areas.

This is the bigger benefit as far as i’m concerned, after riding trails for decades I do go back to certain areas and notice how even a slight change in the trail could benefit those riders that keep coming back to a certain area.

Another trail is being converted due to low-use.

This could be a huge boost to an areas ohv tourism, offering something a little different. This gives riders a reason to return to areas again and again.

Trail Cattle Gate, trail not closed but restricted in Bighorn County, Wyoming.

Maybe i’m looking into this a little too deeply but I could see benefits to this type of trail rotation, especially if done regularly, say every 10 years.

The amount of money is negligible considering the land is usually already owned by county, state or federal government so really the costs are not an issue for more popular areas and trail construction in rural, less popular areas are already subsidized by local, state and federal branches through various branches of government.

There are even organizations and businesses that give money toward trail construction, so I don’t see money being the issue. It’s more along the lines of people are not thinking about different ways to not only help the environment but the struggling economies of these rural areas.