A Dirty Business

IMBA Trail News
Volume 18, Number 2
Summer 2005

Inside IMBA's fee-based Trail Solutions program

Many a singletrack mile has been built by volunteers - dedicated folks who give up their weekends to shovel, scrape and sculpt the earth. Volunteer-based trailbuilding is at the core of IMBA's biggest success stories, including more than 1,000 trail projects and 100,000 people who have worked with the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crews.

But even the most dedicated volunteers can't shirk their day jobs for weeks at a time. Additionally, volunteers don't always have access to the heavy machinery and advanced techniques that some projects require.

In 2002, IMBA acted on the need for a professional, fee-based trailbuilding program. Trail Solutions, an economically self-sufficient division of IMBA, has emerged as a leader in the booming field of trail consulting and construction. Trail Solutions helps promote the sport by building alliances with land managers and educating trail users, just like the volunteer programs the IMBA-affiliated clubs oversee. "The fundamental mission is the same as other the branches of IMBA, but our resources allow us to tackle large-scale projects," says Trail Solutions' Scott Linnenburger.

Fairfax County, Virginia

When an urban trail system in Northern Virginia developed into a spaghetti bowl of trails - a confusing mess that land managers found difficult to manage - Trail Solutions helped create an improved network. Like many Trail Solution projects, work provided by local bike clubs was a big part of the story.

"One of the keys to Trail Solutions success is that we work in tandem with IMBA-affiliated clubs," says Trail Solutions' Rich Edwards. "In Virginia, we teamed with the MORE [Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts] chapter in Fairfax County. We offered land managers an ongoing relationship with local riders, and that really made an impression on them." Working through the spring of 2005, the Trail Solutions/MORE team produced a revamped trail system capable of handling 1,500 users per week. Old trails were re-routed to avoid a newly discovered archeological site and an ecologically sensitive area, and the durability of the trails was greatly improved.

"We receive compliments on our new trails all the time, so I know park users are happy," says Bill Hellwig, manager of the Audrey Moore RECenter for Fairfax County. "The county planners were impressed with the 800 hours of volunteer labor that Trail Solutions coordinated with MORE," adds Hellwig.

Park City, Utah

Park City is home to some of the best cross-country riding (the skiing is pretty respectable, too) in the country. But sustainable freeriding options in the area were sorely lacking, until the city council approved a Trail Solutions bid to build an urban dirt jump park. The program began in May, and includes construction, rider education and maintenance of the new park. Four jump lines have built, with options for beginners through expert riders.

"The town is using this small park as a barometer. If the response from riders is high, we will likely hire IMBA Trail Solutions to build a larger freeride park," says Park City Recreation Department Manager Ken Fisher. By early summer, local riders were giving the facility favorable reviews - meaning Park City could soon boast additional freeriding terrain.

"Forward-thinking land mangers make great partners for Trail Solutions," notes Linnenburger. "Park City looks at its new jump park as a way to improve quality of life. It gets people outside, and when properly designed, constructed and maintained it carries no more liability risk than other recreation facilities."

Little Creek Mountain, Utah

Another recent Trail Solutions project in the Beehive State, Little Creek Mountain represents an entirely different scale than the downtown dirt jumps in Park City.

Located near St. George, the 22,000-acre mesa at Little Creek offers slickrock-style riding to rival Moab's best routes. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administers Little Creek, and considers it an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) because it hosts an extensive number of Anasazi ruins and rock-art sites.

"Little Creek offers amazing recreational, environmental and cultural opportunities, requiring a variety of management strategies," says Cimarron Chacon, a landscape architect with the BLM. "Working with a fully skilled partner like Trail Solutions has helped my department design a trail system that will address the needs of multiple user groups."

According to IMBA Trail Specialist Joey Klein, "Our task at Little Creek is to bring in people while preserving the backcountry experience. The blend of recreation and conservation that the BLM asked Trail Solutions to provide demands innovative planning, and we have the knowhow to deliver what they want."

Since 2002, IMBA Trail Solutions has helped build or improve more than 100 miles of trails in a dozen states. To hire them for your trail needs, contact Scott Linnenburger: .