Questions about workshops? Call Annie McVay, State Trails Coordinator (602) 542-7116
December 4 ,
Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center, 3131 S. Central Ave, Phoenix AZHike at 7 am. Workshop from 10 am to 4 pm. Registration $35. Proposed topics include: Top Tips for Trail Planning, Strategic Trails Planning & Multi-Agency Coordination, Public Involvement, Connectivity and more.
Download Workshop Flier (
1.5 MB PDF)
Schedule (Subject to change)
7:00 am: Morning Hike
8:30 am: Registrations opens & Morning refreshments
10:00 am: Opening session: Tips for Successful Trail Planning by Kim Frederick, Jefferson County Open Space, Chinook & Associates
11:15 am: Panel discussion: Different viewpoints on strategic Trail Planning, Processes & Partnerships
LUNCH
1:00 pm: Breakout Sessions
2:00 pm: Breakout Sessions
3:00 pm: Ending Session (outdoors)
Download Workshop Flier ( 1.5 MB PDF)
The Universal Trails Assessment Process (UTAP) provides objective, accurate information about the conditions on a trail or in outdoor environments. The assessment results can help trail users determine whether a trail meets their interests and abilities. Land managers can also use the information to identify areas where access may be limited and to determine whether a trail complies with the proposed accessibility guidelines.
This two-day workshop enables individuals to conduct accurate assessments of trails in their own community and to lead groups of untrained individuals in the completion of trail assessments. Individuals who achieve a minimum of 70% on the final written exam are also eligible to be certified by American Trails as a Trail Assessment Coordinator. To become certified, individuals must submit copies of the trail data that they have collected for a minimum of two trails, which total at least one mile in length. More information on UTAP 
Thanks to the support of the Recreational Trails Program fund, Arizona State Parks, and the City of Scottsdale this workshop is offered at a significantly reduced rate of $50 (typically $300).
This two-day class in trail design starts with a half day in the classroom learning the basic concepts of trail design and layout. The afternoon is spent learning how to use a clinometer and to apply the new trail design skills to evaluate existing trails. The second day is spent evaluating an existing section of trail and laying out a new sustainable reroute. Note, this is not a construction course.
Trail Design Concepts Covered
Trails and Volunteering WorkshopSponsored by Arizona State Parks and the Arizona State Committee on Trails (ASCOT) and the Off-Highway Vehicle Advisory Group (OHVAG). The Trails and Volunteering Workshop was a great success. Over 60 like-minded trails enthusiasts had the opportunity to learn how to best use volunteers, both from a management and volunteer perspective. Additionally, participants were able to gather information on existing successful volunteer programs and to learn about the current trends in volunteering as a whole.
Given the current and continuing economic climate, land managers and trail support groups are learning how to operate within new parameters. Correctly recruiting, managing and maintaining useful volunteer groups is becoming the norm, not the exception. The Trails and Volunteer Workshop was a well timed learning opportunity for all those who participated.
In case you missed the event or just wanted to follow up on a missed session, the presentations are posted below.
Arizona Success Stories: OHV Ambassadors & Prescott Area Volunteer Ranger Program. Learn about how they got started, what obstacles they encountered, what they’ve accomplished and why it works:
Download Prescott Volunteer Ranger Presentation ( 15 MB PDF)
Download OHV Ambassador Presentation ( 324 KB PDF)
Big Picture Trends in Volunteer Engagement and Management:
Download this Presentation ( 801 KB PDF)
Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers:
Download Tonto National Forest Presentation ( 451 KB PDF)
Download Arizona Trail Presentation ( 1.2 KB PDF)
Managing Volunteers (various aspects of rights & responsibilities, handling ‘bad apples’ etc):
Download Volunteers for Outdoor Arizona Presentation ( 2.9 MB PDF)
Download Arizona State Parks Presentation ( 13 MB PDF)
This three-day workshop is divided between classroom presentations and outside demonstrations of equipment and techniques. Safe practices in the use of wire rope and rigging equipment will be presented. A variety of winches and specialty tools will be available to apply in different situations. Applications ranging from simple pulling/dragging situations to overhead skyline systems hundreds of feet long will be described or demonstrated. Note: Hardhats and leather gloves and boots are recommended for the outdoor sessions.
Safety Concerns
Slide Show: What can you do on the trail with Rigging Equipment?
Rigging Equipment
Pulling systems
Try different winches to move heavy objects – “feel” tension in the wire rope by using a dynamometer.
Highline demonstration
Systematic ways of planning and setting up skyline systems Limitations of lifting from a horizontal line Calculating working load limits
Stone Cutting Techniques
A variety of stone hammers, feathers and wedges, and carbide tipped stone tools will be introduced and participants will practice using these tools to cut stones and shape them for typical trail applications. All participants will receive helpful handouts that summarize important information.
About the Instructor
Lester Kenway has worked with wire rope and rigging equipment for nearly 30 years. Since 1993, he has supplied equipment, advice and instruction in the safe use of rigging tools throughout the United States via his company, Trail Services LLC - based in Bangor, Maine. Lester has been involved in trails since 1971 through positions with the State of Maine, as an Appalachian Trail Volunteer, and as an independent contractor. He served as Trail Supervisor at Baxter State Park for 22 years, and has coordinated projects for the Maine Conservation Corps for the last 7 years. Lester has received awards from the Guy Waterman Fund, Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Professional Trail Builders Association for his innovative contributions to trail construction.
“Measure twice, cut once.” This approach to carpentry – planning carefully before beginning work – saves time and materials. That same methodology is even more critical in trail building. Proper design minimizes maintenance costs, aids in resource protection and provides a better experience for trail users.
Poorly designed trails result in erosion damage, social trail development and high maintenance costs. A sustainable trail often can go years needing only occasional pruning.
If you’d like to learn how to build trails that last and that will have generations of users and land managers thanking you, this class will give you the tools and resources you need. If you are a land manager who would like reduced maintenance costs, happier trail users and minimal impact on resources, the principles taught in “Perfect Trails” will help you achieve those goals.
While the course is aimed at designing trails in a desert environment, the principles apply to trail design everywhere.
The class combines classroom instruction, a tour of trails built using state-of-the-art design and construction techniques, and an exercise in which participants use what they’ve learned to design a section of trail.
The $25 cost covers course materials (including a manual on desert trail design and construction) and lunch both days. Times: Friday from 9 am – 4 pm. Saturday from 9 am – 1 pm.
About the Instructor
Mark Flint has been designing, building and maintaining trails since the early 1990s. He began in Oregon, and moved to Southern Arizona in 1997, where he became involved in the design of the Arizona Trail. Other trail systems he has done design for include the 50 Year Trail, 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo Race Course, Tucson Mountain Park and the Sweetwater Preserve. He has helped plan and design trails in the Tortolita Mountain Park Preserve. He has designed more than 100 miles of trail.
He was a member of the team that produced the “National Mountain Bicycling Strategic Action Plan,” a U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management planning document published in 2002.
In 2007 his manual, “Desert Design: Building Trails in a Harsh and Demanding Environment” was published by Arizona State Parks. He has presented sessions on desert trail design and construction at the Arizona State Trails Conference (October 2007) and the Professional Trail Builders Association conference in Reno (March 2008).
Doug Hansen, of YRU, Inc. contractors presented slides and hosted a discussion about equipment and techniques used to build trails. After the presentation, participants went to Thunderbird Conservation Park and examined an active construction site with trails in progress on a rocky site. A number of federal, state, county and city agencies participated in this event and got the chance to see some specialized machines used by YRU for trail construction and maintenance. YRU is a member of the Professional Trailbuilders Association (PTBA), North America’s largest private sector group of trail specialists, professional trail contractors, designers, and consultants.
Photos by Tye R Farrell for Arizona State Parks
The Train the Trainer class is designed for people with trail and crew leader experience, this class will give the participant the experience to leader a Trail Crew Leader Training. Instructors are taught how to use the OSI curricula and lesson plans to teach basic trail construction and maintenance, safety, tool use and crew leadership principles. Participants should demonstrate the opportunity to host a Trail Crew Leader Training for an agency or association they are involved with in the future.
Registration fee is $75 to cover course materials, equipment, light breakfast and lunch both days. Free camping is available at the park for attendees or there are lodging options in Cottonwood, AZ. More details and logistics will be sent to attendees after registering.
The Trail Crew Leadership Workshop is designed to provide individuals with the training and information required to lead groups of volunteers on important trail projects. The training is 16 hours in length (2 days) and includes a mix of classroom lecture, hands-on experience and field work instruction. Participants should have some prior trail experience.
As a result of the training, Crew Leader Trainees will learn trail terminology, methodology and fundamentals of the functionality of a trail. Instructors will teach Trainees about trail maintenance and construction, tools and tool safety – including tool identification, carrying, use and storage. Crew Leaders will learn how to assess risks to avoid injury.
Crew Leader Trainees will learn individual learning styles, listening skills as well as conflict and dispute resolution. A successful Crew Leader will be able to assess the individuals that make up the crew, understand motivational types and be able to effectively acknowledge efforts of individuals and the team.
Registration fee is $75 to cover course materials, equipment, light breakfast and lunch both days. Free camping is available at the park for attendees or there are lodging options in Apache Junction, AZ. More details and logistics will be sent to attendees after registering.
Friday & Saturday, March 14 & 15, 2008Are trails important to you? Have you witnessed the development of the modern world erase trails from the past? Would you like to know how to distinguish a historic 19th Century wagon track from a late 20th Century jeep road?
The Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA), Arizona State Parks, Arizona State Parks Foundation, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service are partnering to provide this Trails Preservation Workshop. This two-day training focuses on three main components of trails preservation: monitoring, mapping, and marking trails.
Friday, March 14th – Classroom Session at the Bureau of Land Management National Training Center
(9828 North 31st Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85051, Phone: 602.906.5500)
The first day is a classroom session limited to 50 attendees. In the classroom we will cover mapping, marking and monitoring historic trails. The mapping session will cover identification and classification in addition to mapping techniques. The marking session will demonstrate marking options and marker documentation while the monitoring session will review applicable laws and regulations and suggest programs for keeping watch over activities that may impact the trails
Saturday, March 15th – Field Session – Maricopa Pass, Sonoran Desert National Monument
The second day, limited to 20 attendees, is a field trip to Maricopa Pass (part of the Sonoran Desert National Monument) to better understand the concepts – this area has several identifiable historic routes (Anza, Mormon Battalion, Butterfield) and has the current realities of urban encroachment and OHV use. While this workshop is designed for historic trails, many of the methods can pertain to other trails striving for preservation.
See 2007 Trails Conference Wrap Up Photo Gallery & Library 
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