Yonkers, New York: Managing High-Use Trails

Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew teaches sustainable trailbuilding in NYC's playground.

The abundance of natural rock features in the park create durable, challenging technical features.
Newly anointed "rock expert" Paula Burton, host for the previous visit to Trumbull, CT, couldn't get enough trailbuilding and came out to lend her expertise.
WMBA crew is ready for a day of trailwork.
Delilah Perez and Rachael Rodriguez take a break from hard bench cutting work.
WMBA crew busts out a new section of full bench trail for a beginner loop.
Chris smokes an optional log ride along the trail.

From July 8-11, Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew leaders Jill Van Winkle and Chris Bernhardt worked with the Westchester Mountain Bike Association (WMBA) hosted a trailbuilding school at Sprain Ridge Park. Twenty local riders sacrificed a fine, albeit humid, summer weekend to learn trailbuilding and maintenance techniques.

WMBA has worked with Westchester County Parks to build trails specifically for mountain bike use. Although Sprain Ridge Park is not large, the group has maximized the available land to provide a range of bicycling opportunities, from old road grades for less-skilled riders to difficult, technical rock spines and log rides for advanced riders. Unfortunately, the very dense population around the park has contributed to overuse, trail braiding, and social trails to rock features.

Enthusiastic volunteers built a retaining wall to repair a steep, unsustainable turn, closed alternate lines that had formed through the vegetation by riders who could not negotiate the turn, cut in about 200 feet of full bench trail, and laid out approximately one half-mile of new trail past what was constructed. When done, the newly designed trail will help complete a beginner loop in the park.

Everyone enjoyed a well deserved BBQ dinner, hosted by grill-master and WMBA president Matt Sherman, to finish out the busy weekend.