Shared by Nate Clark - Park Manager, Hungry Mother State Park, as Guest Blogger.

Every year through our visitor surveys and daily interaction with people at the park, trails are constantly rated as a top activity at our parks. As a Virginia State Park Ranger, I’m fortunate to not only have easy access to trails but help make sure that they’re maintained and accessible for our park guests. Trails in Virginia State Parks vary greatly across the state with all the regions that we enjoy in the Commonwealth, and our trails mirror that diversity. 

Hiking trails can lead to best views (Rhododendron Trail at Grayson Highlands State Park)

The Southwest region are home to most of the mountainous and strenuous trails. These trails take you to beautiful views and high country. While in the east, there are relatively flat trails that explore swamps and coastline. Waterfalls, wildlife, rock formations, unique trees and wildflowers and incredible views can all be found across Virginia on our State Park trails. Virginia is fortunate to have an enormous variety of resources and you can explore them all through a hiking trail.

Virginia has 38 state parks and over 600 miles of trails, so whether your preference is hiking, walking, running, mountain biking or on horseback you can find it here.

Construction

There are lots of things that go into the planning of trails such as environmental and topographical features, what user group the trail is intended for and long-term sustainability of the trail. We look at the trail experience as a whole when we build; where is the destination and what features do we want to take users to? How do we best take advantage of the landscape and grade? How does the trail fit into the overall trail system of that park? As park rangers, we have a unique view and responsibility for our trails. Trails are a resource but also a facility. They require construction and maintenance and funding. For many years now we’ve built new trail and rehabbed trail to IMBA standards, International Mountain Biking Association. These construction standards help us deal with grade, water runoff and other variables and help us build trails that require minimal maintenance.

Trail Construction is a team effort (AmeriCorps volunteers)

Trail construction is a complicated process. First, the trail is mapped and questions are asked and answered. Then the ground work starts with flagging and laying out the intended route and adjusting as needed for obstacles, natural features and grade. The actual construction can take many forms too; from hand tool work to using mechanized equipment. Some trails we can build with rangers and volunteers, some trails are contracted for construction.

The current estimate is that new trail construction runs about $4 per linear foot.  Do the math, that’s over $20,000 for a mile of trail! 

Maintenance

Our trails are maintained by the rangers in the park, our Resource Management section and dedicated volunteers. Trees fall and need to be cut, water causes erosion, benches are placed to provide resting points, directional signs are put out, and maps are made. You can see that there is a lot of work that goes into building and maintaining trails.       

Volunteers at Holliday Lake State Park help with trail maintenance

From a work perspective, rangers use the trails in our parks too. Each year our Resource Management section provides trail maintenance training to staff, teaching Rangers how to fix and repair trail issues.  We have a prescribed fire program in Virginia and part of the annual training is the pack test, a hike over a standard distance wearing a weighted vest, that test is always given on our trails. We have search and rescue teams and each year Rangers have to find and assist hikers, obviously knowing the trails in our parks is vital to the success of a search and rescue mission. Virginia Park Rangers have a lot of jobs, wear a lot of hats as we like to say, and you can see how important trails are to our jobs.

Use

From a personal perspective, I use our trails too. I love trails and take full advantage of the access that I’m lucky enough to have. Trail running, mountain biking, fitness and hiking with my family are all ways that I use and enjoy our trails. I’ve left footprints on a lot of trails across the country, from Yellowstone and the Tetons to Shenandoah and the Smokies, and have also hiked on trails in almost all of our state parks. I’ve worked at three Virginia parks that each have very different and unique trails and I’ve left sawdust, sweat and lots of boot prints on our trails (maybe some blood too). I’m probably a little biased but I will say that Virginia State Parks offers some great trail experiences and does an outstanding job of trail maintenance.    

Take a bike ride (like this at Claytor Lake State Park)

Safety

As a Park Ranger, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include a paragraph here about trail safety. Most of the searches I’ve been on involved someone getting lost or turned around, always take a trail map with you and know the distance and difficulty of the trail you’re hiking. Know the weather and be prepared for it to change. Wear sturdy footwear and appropriate clothing, bring water and snacks and a flashlight. 

Keep your distance from wildlife, you’re in their house now. Take lots of pictures but leave only footprints.  

Get outside and go for a hike in a Virginia State Park. Take the kids and dog with you, saddle up or pump up the tires. Do a quick after work walk or hike to the highest point in the state. We’ve got some great trail resources right here in Virginia’s backyard and there’s nothing better for some mental health and relaxation than hitting a trail. For more info about Virginia State Park’s trails system visit our website.

Hope to see you on a trail soon.