Accessibility Guidebook for Outdoor Recreation and Trails

Trail Terminology

Although this guidebook explains requirements in plain language, some phrases and words are important to understanding how FSTAG is applied. The following terminology isn't organized alphabetically; the phrases and words are grouped so that the distinctions between similar terminology are easy to understand.

Federal Trail Data Standards (FTDS) enable national-, regional-, State-, and trail-level managers, and the public, to use mutually understood terminology for recording, retrieving, and applying spatial and tabular information. FTDS make it easier for trail information to be accessed, exchanged, and used by more than one individual, agency, or group. The data standards are available at http://www.nps.gov/gis/trails/Doc2/Federal_Trail_Data_Standards_Final_20111108.pdf.

Designed Use is the "Managed Use" of a trail that requires the most demanding design, construction, and maintenance parameters. In conjunction with the applicable "Trail Class," designed use determines which design parameters will apply to a trail. It is an FTDS term for the intended use that controls the geometric design of a trail and determines the level to which it should be maintained. There is only one "Designed Use" per trail or trail segment. Although the trail may be actively managed for more than one use, the designed use determines the technical specifications for the trail. For example, pack and saddle stock require higher and wider clearances than do hikers, so a trail managed for both foot travel and horse use would have a designed use of "Pack and Saddle" rather than "Hiker/Pedestrian." More information about trail design parameters for the different designed uses is in Forest Service Trail Design Parameters, available at http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/trail-management/trail-fundamentals/ or available to Forest Service employees at http://fsweb.wo.fs.fed.us/rhwr/ibsc/docs/trails/national_design_parameters_2008-10-16.doc.

Managed Use is an FTDS term for the mode(s) of travel for which a trail is actively managed. Managed Uses are the specific types of trail use that are allowed by management decision or intent on a specific trail or portion of a trail. Each trail or trail segment may have more than one "Managed Use." For example, a trail may be managed for both equestrian and hiker/pedestrian use in the summer and for cross-country skiing in the winter.

Constructed Features are commonly found along trails or as part of trails.

• Associated Constructed Feature—A constructed element associated with a trail that provides support for trail users but is not a part of the trail tread. Examples include camp shelters, pit toilets, fire rings, picnic tables, and tent pads. Refer to FSORAG for the technical provisions for associated constructed features.

Trail Constructed Feature—A constructed feature that functions as part of the trail tread. Examples include puncheon, trail bridges, boardwalks, waterbars, and switchbacks. For a listing of trail constructed features, refer to the trail documentation available at http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/trail-management/index.shtml or available to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management employees at http://fsweb.wo.fs.fed.us/rhwribsc/tr-cost.shtml.

A trailhead (for purposes of FSORAG and FSTAG) is a site designed and developed by the Forest Service or other Government agency, a trail association, trail maintaining club, trail partner, or other cooperators to provide a staging area for a trail.

For purposes of FSTAG, trailheads are not:

• Junctions between trails where there is no other access

• Intersections where a trail crosses a road or where users have developed an access point, but no improvements are provided by the Forest Service, trail associations, trail maintaining clubs, trail partners, or other cooperators beyond minimal markers or modifications for health and safety

Trail Classes broadly organize trails by desired management characteristics and the level of development. They are based on forest plan direction and represent intended design and management standards. Trail classes take into account user preferences, the setting, protection of sensitive resources, and management activities. Trail classifications range from Trail Class 1 trails that appear little different from animal paths and may disappear intermittently, to Trail Class 5 trails that are usually wide, paved paths associated with highly developed environments. FSTAG does not change Forest Service trail classes. More information about trail classes is available at http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/trail-management/trail-fundamentals/.

Setting is the word used to describe the nature of the surroundings of a trail. On public lands outside rural and urban settings, the natural surroundings are usually the primary attraction for visitors. Improvements, such as trails, should not adversely affect the setting. For example, the design for a trail crossing a glacial boulder field must protect the geologic features. Accessibility is incorporated to the extent possible without fundamentally altering the natural environment. On the other hand, a trail designed for a wide open, relatively level area should follow the requirements of FSTAG to the highest degree possible.

The following words describe construction and maintenance work:

• Construction is building a new trail or segment of trail where there was no trail before.

• An alteration is work done to change the purpose, intent, or function of the trail.

• Maintenance is the routine or periodic repair of existing trails or trail segments to restore them to the standards or conditions to which they were originally designed and built. Maintenance does not change the original purpose, intent, or function for which the trail was designed. Trail maintenance work isn't covered by the FSTAG. Maintenance includes:

  • Removing debris and vegetation, such as fallen trees or broken branches on the trails, clearing the trail of encroaching brush or grasses, and removing rock slides

  • Maintaining trail tread, such as filling ruts, reshaping a trail bed, repairing a trail surface or washouts, installing riprap to retain cut and fill slopes, and constructing retaining walls or cribbing to support trail tread

  • Performing erosion control and drainage work, such as replacing or installing drainage dips or culverts, and realigning sections of trail to prevent erosion or to avoid boggy areas

  • Repairing or replacing deteriorated, damaged, or vandalized trail or trailhead structures or parts of structures, including sections of bridges, boardwalks, information kiosks, fencing, and railings; painting; and removing graffiti

While FSTAG doesn't apply to maintenance, Forest Service policy is to improve accessibility wherever the opportunity arises, including during trail maintenance and repair activities. Every time a trail is maintained, there is an opportunity to improve access. 

The word "reconstruction" is not used in Federal accessibility guidelines or FSTAG, even though the term is used frequently by the trails community. For the purposes of FSTAG, actions are categorized as construction, alteration, or maintenance.