I A TR By Brett Auten
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St. Charles County Parks Department will show volunteers how to build and maintain sustainable, natural-surfaced trails as they assist in extending the county’s 62-mile trail system Trail carvers are in need. What’s that, you say? What’s a trail carver? Glad you asked. The St. Charles County Parks Department along with members of the Gateway Off-Road Cyclists are leading a project that began last month. They will show volunteers how to build and maintain sustainable, natural-surfaced trails as they assist in extending the county’s 62-mile trail system. Nancy Gomer is the Marketing Coordinator for the St. Charles County Parks Department. Gomer says that trail carving happens throughout the year. “We offer spring, summer, fall and winter trail work days
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and everyone is invited to come out,” Gomer said. “With trails being our No. 1 requested amenity, our trail carving work never ends and is constantly in motion. Our trail stewards are constantly seeking connector trails and other areas where trails would be suitable to build.” The trails system continues to go with the help of longtime volunteers and community partners from Gateway Off-Road Cyclists. After a trail is flagged, the carving work begins. They also try to keep older mature trees and cut down as little as possible. Carving around obstacles is also key. There’s really no magical number used to determine how long our trails should be. Flowing trials are engaging to the user, so they do their best to deliver trails that guests want to ride again and again.
