What do you do with the trails you maintain?

[ctfjr]

I often read threads here about using your tractor to create / maintain trails. Although there is an easement in our land title for public trail passage the actual trail is on the other side of the street about 1000' feet from our property line. Every once in a while we bump into hikers on our property who are lost
I am curious what you do with the trails you work on. Are they open for public recreation? Snowmobiles / atv's?
At the opposite end of our land there is an old horse trail in the woods that crosses several private lots and we used to meet riders there. With my 1st Kubota I would clear that trail a couple of time a year for them. I no longer see anyone on it - probably because the street below us was developed and those peoples' backyards are right up against it.
I actually got some satisfaction knowing that folks were using it. . .

So, the question is what do you do with yours?

 

[Motion]

Easement in your land title, how does that work? Does John Q public have the run of your property? Does your home owners cover some nut case who runs his ATV into a tree on your property and sues? I'm old school "fences make good neighbors".

 

[fog107]

I only maintain private trails on my 26 acres property is all wooded I use as needed bucket or grapple and chainsaw but mostly my maintenance is just the landscape rake a few times a year

 

[JeremyBX2200]

I have some trails around my 5 acres. It is old farmland that is grown up. No woods. I roll them in the spring to try and make them smoother for the kids on their 4 wheeler. Past that I just keep them mowed and remove any big rocks that come up.

 

[FreezinGator]

Ours are used mainly to haul firewood out or go to our blinds / treestands.

 

[Tughill Tom]

I only maintain trials on my 40 Ac's to get to stands and for wood. But I do maintain 40 miles of snowmobile trails on private and public lands in the Oct to April. Doing staking, signage and operating a Groomer, it's not a Kubota though...

 

[ctfjr]

Easement in your land title, how does that work? Does John Q public have the run of your property? Does your home owners cover some nut case who runs his ATV into a tree on your property and sues? I'm old school "fences make good neighbors".

lol, things are different various parts of the country. First, the easement goes back a very long time when this was just farmland. It allows for free passage on the trail.

It's much like a utility easement. In our first house the electric company had an easement for a guy wire to a telephone pole. It worked out great for me. I had need to drop an enormous oak in the woods, not too far from that guy. I called the utility and explained that if it weren't for the guy wire I could just drop the tree. Now if I do it might take the pole with it. They sent a tree service company up who not only dropped it but took all the small branches and cut everything bigger than 3" or so into 2' lengths.

Our deed also does not allow for fences. A pool fence would be the only exception. My 1-1/2 acre dog fence works because its all in the woods and no one can see it.

 

[Magicman]

I have over 7 miles of trails circling and crisscrossing my property. It is private property and private use only by family. Last week we removed some downfall, etc and tomorrow I plan to make the final bush hog rounds getting ready for our annual July 4th trail ride and scavenger hunt.

I sorta "hide" envelopes ($5) along the trail and everyone will look for theirs. Then there are special prizes hidden and clues to find them. This activity usually takes a couple of hours and is much looked fowrard to fun.

 

[forky]

Yep private trails here on 60 acres that wind through the ridge on our property. Used for firewood and deer and Turkey hunting access as well as putt putt rides through the woods.....instead of miles, I would say it's a fun slow 6 pack ride if you enjoy that kind of refreshment.

 

[ken erickson]

I have created a trail system thru out my 56 acre parcel. I regularly drive the trails in my Jeep. The trails typically Will border the edges of the units I have planted native species in. Makes for great photo opps if your into that sorta thing. I just returned from the land today refining one section of trail with a box blade behind the L2501. As I use a manual wheelchair I would eventually like the trails refined enough to push them. I would estimate I am half way done with another 1 1/2 mikes to go.

Along the same lines as Magicman I have placed a geocache with trinkets for the kids that come with their parents. I have the coordinates loaded into a handheld gps and then they find the cache , take what they want and sign the little guest book.

I also have a good friend that likes to come out at least once a year in the winter and cross country ski my trails.

My trails are not open to the public but open to friends, family, folks I have gotten to know that work for the DNR and US Fish and Wildlife. At times they use my trails as a field trip type teaching event to interns etc.

 

[bbxlr8]

I developed a few miles of networked trails on my 10 acres and into the adjoining 150 acres of empty conservation land. The terrain is most heavy woods and a LOT of glacial deposited rock sized from "softballs to suburbans". It is on one side of a ridge so all land has pretty uniform elevation changes (meaning it goes up from my house).

I use them for walks with the dogs, enjoying the quiet, observing animals, and change in the seasons (i.e. my escape!) My main initial use was to get at firewood, clearing the deadfall, as this area was not logged for about 80-100Y or so. I enjoy my woodstove and fireplaces so it was a win/win and I like getting outside and the physical work. I also occasionally trail ride the jeep, but am mostly using it as a big tractor with a 4x8 trailer for FW and hauling stuff to compost up out of the way. My friend uses a couple of deer stands as well

The twist somewhat similar to above is that I have a high voltage power line easement and they recently replace the old towers from the 60's to the new mono-poles. These develop the brown oxidation and blend in much better with the large trees. The downside was they disrupted things for a long time and put in a gravel road. The plus is that they restored and graded it much nicer than before and gave me a gate at the road entrance to deter the casual partiers and dumpers. I was getting quad and dirtbikes and occasional moron like the guy in the pickup that tried to run me over on my own land. I guess he forgot about the license plate on the back Hopefully, the gate and some judicious use of my BH around it will curb the casual trespassers.

I had about 10y clearing by hand and chainsaw then my little ford with 60"mmm and pretty much beat it up hard. I just got a L2501 TLB and have been working my way through the problem rocks that work up over time. My goal is to use the BB eventually on the trails combined with some judicious fill where the rocks are the "tip of the iceburg". I went with the LP grapple as well so I am looking forward to working smart rather than hard. FWIW I am truly AMAZED at the amount of grading and true work that I have accomplished only in the first couple of months

 

[jimh406]

Wildlife use my trails through the sagebrush and grass, and my family and friends hike them sometimes. There aren’t that many people near me, but I can see most of my property boundary from inside the house. My property is pretty open though.

 

[ItBmine]

The roads and trails I maintain in my back property have a few uses.

1. give access to myself and three adjacent property owners access to our back properties that would otherwise be useless.

2. Those neighbours enjoy walking them, walking their dogs, snow shoeing, and riding atv's on them.

3. gives me access to harvest firewood off my property.

4. the deer and moose seem to enjoy walking them, LOL

5. gives me an excuse to play with tractors, backhoe and RTV.

 

[JeremyBX2200]

The roads and trails I maintain in my back property have a few uses.

5. gives me an excuse to play with tractors, backhoe and RTV.

I do this a lot with projects around my property!!!!

 

[ItBmine]

I do this a lot with projects around my property!!!!

It's a disease.....I'm a heavy equipment operator, then I come home for my days off and play with tractors, LOL

 

[Mlarv]

So it is a public easement, if so I would let who ever has the rights to that easement take care of it. I had one on my propriety at my last house. I let the city take care of it. They would mow and fix the path when needed.

I figure it this way if the city / county want a path there they should maintain it. If they don't and people don't use it long enough it will pretty much be forgotten until you sell.

 

[ItBmine]

In my situation, it's not really public. I only have a couple neighbours that come on my property and they are respectful and even with atv's don't tear it up or run down trees. So it's no issue.
They have offered, but I don't accept any payment or fuel for doing it.
In return the benefit I get is to also be able to use their properties and even harvest wood from them if needed. So far I have only ever used deadfall or diseased trees.

 

[ctfjr]

So it is a public easement, if so I would let who ever has the rights to that easement take care of it. I had one on my propriety at my last house. I let the city take care of it. They would mow and fix the path when needed.

I figure it this way if the city / county want a path there they should maintain it. If they don't and people don't use it long enough it will pretty much be forgotten until you sell.

The trail isn't on my property. There is an association that takes care of it. It just so happens that all the lots broken out of the large tract of land inherited the easement in their titles.

 

[johnjk]

I have trails on my 25 acres that go around the perimeter and then old logging trails back in to 10 acres of woods. Mainly used them for access to firewood or tree stand. I’m way too far out for public access. Mainly just see deer and turkey back in there. My goal is to extend the trails all the way to the rear of my property and create a nice loop. It’s fairly wet so getting in there with equipment waits till fall or winter freeze. Last year the freeze came with 3’ of snow.

 

[Oliver]

We use the trails on our property for walking with the dog, cutting firewood, riding our SxS's, and my friend loves them to Xcountry ski on, at least she does the handful of times there's enough snow. I mow them with the ZTR otherwise maintenance is generally with an electric chain saw and loppers which I carry in the SxS's.
We really enjoy walking the trails more than anything. Here's an abandoned tree stand (from the previous owner) that turkey vultures have used 3 of the last 4 years to nest which I think is pretty cool. This is it this year.





And yesterday....