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Design details for building durable, low-maintenance trails on Alberta public land, from sustainable alignment and drainage to water crossings, erosion control, junctions, and access control.
Most trail failures start with water: a tread that captures runoff, a crossing that suits neither the stream nor the user, or a slope that was never stabilized. This course sets out the detailed design toolkit for trails on Alberta public land. It begins with alignment for sustainability, covering bench cut trails with backslopes, the challenges of flat and steep terrain, switchbacks and climbing turns, anchors and corrals, and tread armouring. It then works through water management structures such as grade reversals, rolling grade dips, knicks and sumps, waterbars, ditches and subsurface drains, before comparing water course crossing options including hardened fords, culverts, bridges of timber, glued laminated timber, aluminum, fibreglass and steel, boardwalks, puncheons and corduroy.
The second half addresses how trails hold together and how users move through them. Topics include erosion control structures, planting and seeding for slope stabilization, tread compaction methods and targets, mechanical and chemical soil stabilization, geotextiles and geogrids, and when retaining walls are worth their cost. Guidance follows on junction layout and spacing, filters that let users test their skill near the trailhead, limiters, fences, gates and fence crossings, and trails that cross or run within highway and roadway rights-of-way. The course closes with activity-optimized trail design built around play, challenge, escape and risk, technical trail features by activity type, and skill development areas that support safe progression.
What Will Be Covered:
Sustainable trail alignment, bench cuts and backslopes, and design in flat and steep terrain including switchbacks and climbing turns
Anchors, corrals and tread armouring techniques such as stone pitching
Water management structures: grade reversals, rolling grade dips, knicks, sumps, waterbars, cross ditches and subsurface drains
Selection and approvals for water course crossings, including hardened crossings, culverts and bridge width and material options
Boardwalks, puncheons and corduroy for wet and boggy ground
Erosion control structures, revegetation, tread compaction, soil stabilization and geosynthetics
Retaining structures and the maintenance trade-offs of retaining walls
Junction design, filters, limiters, fences, gates and fence crossings for user management
Trails crossing or running within highway and roadway rights-of-way
Activity-optimized design, technical trail features (TTFs) and skill development areas
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