[PHOTO: A photo of a group of people working together to build trail infrastructure, or a close-up of just one person performing work on a trail.]: I’m waiting for a few from professional trail builders but you can use any that are linked from the Building page of the Resource Hub
Finding the right trail builder isn’t just about carpentry skills. Ideally, you want to find someone with experience creating the kind of trails you’re looking to build. Look for builders who understand best practices regarding trail use, soils, and ecology. It’s also useful to work with someone who is familiar with the stakeholder engagement process and the planning and permitting phases.
Here are some key questions to ask your builder:
- How many miles of trails have you built?
- Where have you built trails?
- What user types did you build for (hikers, bikers, adaptive sports, etc.)?
- Have you worked with ecologists or permitting specialists?
- How do you include approaches to adaptive or accessible trail features?
- What is your approach to building trails that are able to withstand our increasingly long mud seasons and high-rain events?
How to find a builder
Before you reach out to a builder, it’s worth reviewing a template to get a sense of what yours should include. A good example is the Vermont Mountain Bike Association (VMBA)’s sample builder contract.
We recommend selecting your trail builder from the Professional Trail Builders Association or VMBA’s 2023 list of preferred builders. Other groups to consider include the Student Conservation
Association (SCA), Vermont Youth Conservation
Corps (statewide), or the Northwoods Stewardship
Center (regional), which
has youth and professional crews. Some municipalities have their own corps,
such as the Montpelier Youth
Become a builder
Interested in becoming a professional trail builder? Vermont State University offers training boot camps and a year-long sustainable trail building certification program. You can also inquire about joining a trail crew through a professional builder, the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, or through trail organizations that have their own crews, such as the Green Mountain Club and Kingdom Trails.
To learn more about the profession, and for ongoing training and support, attend our annual Trails Symposium. The Professional Trail Builders Association and American Trails also have annual conferences and ongoing training opportunities, both online and in person.
- Why hiring the right trail builder matters:
- Get someone who has experience, training, knowledge
- Cares about the environment
- Specializes in the kind of trails that you are building: the soils & ecology, surface, end-user
- Understands the importance of the initial phases of stakeholder engagement and planning, permitting
- find out how many miles of trails they have built, where, what user type, whether they have worked with ecologists/permitting specialists, how they include approaches to adaptive/accessible trail features
- Encourage them to check out sample builder contracts and see what’s in them before reaching out to find one
- How to find a professional trail builder
- Professional Trail Builders Association https://www.trailbuilders.org/about-ptba : who they are, what they do,
- This is VMBA’s 2023 list of preferred builders – link to this – and share that at this time, VTGC does not have a current process for curating professional trail builders. https://vmba.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/VMBA_2023-Trail-Builders-Directory.pdf
- Other trail building groups to list with a brief intro: Conservation Corps are another great option and they include both statewide, regional, local options
- Student Conservation Association (SCA)
- Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (statewide)
- Northwoods Stewardship Center (regional) has both Youth and Pro Crews
- Some municipalities have their own Corps, including
- Interested in becoming a professional trail builder?
- Join a trail crew – the state of vermont FPR, as well as many organizations like Green Mountain Club and Kingdom Trails have their own crews
- Find employment with a professional trail builder
- Take part in Vermont State University Certificate program
- Go to the Trails Symposium and learn more about it
