Trail Master Certification Classes being held
at the NEW National Trails Training Center
in Danielsville, GA.

Trail Design Specialists is proud to announce the opening of the National Trails Training Center. Located in Danielsville, Georgia, the center is the first of its kind dedicated to trail education.

The Trail Master Certification Class will cover the latest advances in trail design, construction and maintenance with a focus on long term sustainability and ease of maintenance. A detailed booklet specific to each segment will be provided. Topics will include how to properly design and layout a trail, how to avoid erosion and other environmental issues, user conflicts, proper construction techniques, rehab of existing trails, and a host of other topics. The course will include both classroom learning and hands-on practical trail experience.

The Trail Master Certification Class is $300 per student for four days. $25 discount per student for three participants from the same organization. This class is limited to 16 participants.

We will be offering Mechanized Machine Training Classes - which will include various tools and machinery, including Ditch Witch training, along with proper safety guidelines. This class is limited to 6 participants. Cost is $200 per student and the class is two days long.

Coming soon: Chain Saw Certification Class.

Special: sign up for the Trail Master Certification Class and the Mechanized Machine Class and receive a $25 discount.

For more information on the National Trails Training Center or to register for classes, contact sandra@traildesign.com. Dates are noted on our Calendar.

Our Mission is:

to create trails that provide users with
the best experience possible,
 

require the least amount of maintenance; and
 

preserve the environment for future generations.

 

We believe the only way to create a trail that excites users and gives them positive experiences is to participate in the activities for which the trail is being designed. In that respect, we enjoy hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and off road motorcycling. We're not just weekend enthusiasts; our way of life revolves around our love of the outdoors.

Our experience in working in so many different environments and soil types has given us the insight to create unique trails that will endure the test of time, yet remain easy and cost effective to maintain.

Company Profile - "A Better Way"

Mike Riter has been involved with trails since his early years as a boy scout. Throughout his adult life Mike has been determined to give something back to the great outdoors, a place that has given him many hours of peace and recreation.

In 1992, Mike started working as a volunteer with various mountain bike organizations. By doing this, he learned more about the basics of maintaining and constructing shared use trails. It was at this point that he started to notice the effects erosion had on different types of trail design.

1996 brought the Olympic games to Atlanta, GA and the first ever Olympic Mountain Bike race. The event was held at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, GA a suburb of Atlanta. Once the race was over, Mike approached the park in hopes of allowing continued use of the trails.

Permission was granted and he became the first Trail Coordinator at this historic site.  With the help of the Southern Off Road Bicycle Association (SORBA), the battered course was rebuilt and what was once used as an Olympic mountain bike course was now open to the public.  However, several design flaws became readily apparent so in an attempt to stem erosion, standard water deflection devices were installed.


Mike Riter, trails educator.

While these methods worked for a short while, they required quite a bit of maintenance to ensure the continued desired effect on the trail. There had to be a better way.

1997 brought an invitation from the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) to start a trails education program to travel all over the US and help solve common trail problems such as erosion, user conflict and overuse. Hence, the IMBA/Subaru Trail Care Crew program was born. He embarked on a trail odyssey to change the way they and the world looked at trails. During the first year on the road, he realized different soil types had a direct affect on impacts and erosion. Listening carefully to knowledgeable locals, he soon started to gather the clues that would give him answers in the quest for, “a better way”.

After the end of the first year, Mike started testing many of the different ideas he had learned during his travels. With time to devote to learning and improving current trail design and maintenance standards, he developed two important truths. First, most erosion and impact problems could be directly attributed to trail design not use. For example, when a rut develops in the middle of a trail running straight down a slope the problem is usually attributed to user impacts and erosion. In reality, poor design caused the problem and only through design will the problem be solved. Second, when maintaining trails, it is imperative you work with the natural surroundings rather than trying to control them. For example, a water bar placed on a steep trail diverts water off to the side causing an abrupt change in direction.


When this happens, the water starts to eat away at the water bar or the dirt holding it in place requiring the device to be frequently maintained. Because water bars are an unnatural trail feature, they are noticed and avoided by trail users of all types. This results in unintentional trails being created around one side or the other of this unnatural device rendering the water bar useless and requiring even more maintenance. A better way would be to incorporate grade dips that are more natural and ease water off the trail rather divert it. Users rarely notice a well-built dip and therefore do not affect it nearly as much.

A better way was developing.

 
A fine example of a rolling grade dip. The water is directed off the trail down the slope.

In 1998, Mike started the first trail school devoted exclusively to the design construction and maintenance of natural surface trails and later the same year the crew was awarded the Advancements in Trail Technology award from the American Trails Association for new innovations that helped bring trail design into modern times. Three years on the road had taken him to every state in the continental United States, Canada, and several European countries where he worked on trails or taught others what they knew. In 1999, he decided it was time to retire and started a trail consulting business of his own while continuing research on the “better way”. Mike was also hired as Georgia’s Trails Education Specialist through a Recreational Trails Program grant that was written by the Southern Off Road Bicycle Association. This position has allowed him to continue educating (and learning from) others so they too can start to see “a better way”.


Mike Riter, center front, keeps his students laughing!