Trail Management Toolbox

A person using a large rock bar to pry up rocks on a forest trail. — A member of the South Fork trail crew uses a rock bar to pry and move rocks along the South Fork Trail on the Payette National Forest. (*USDA Forest Service photo by Kelly Martin*)

Welcome to the Trail Management Toolbox! This site provides resources to help trail workers apply standardized concepts to design, construct, and maintain National Forest System trails.

Saw Program

Gain an understanding of the agency’s saw policy that enables volunteer, partner (a.k.a. cooperator groups) to train, evaluate, and certify their own members as official Forest Service sawyers working on National Forest System lands.

Plans for Trail and Trail Bridge Structures

Engineered drawings or “plans” of trail and trail bridge features, including 3D models of some features. Federal, state, and local agencies, communities, trail partners, volunteers, and other entities are also welcome to use the plans.

Trail Management Basics

Learn the basic concepts that inform how a trail is designed and maintained, including trail type, development scale, and the designated uses. These concepts are documented in the Trail Management Objective (TMO) for each National Forest System trail.

Guiding Trail Law, Policy, and Initiatives

Find a summary of laws, policies, and initiatives that guide trail and trail bridge management in the Forest Service.

For More Information

Please contact Forest Service Trail Management if you have questions or comments.

Additional trail resources are available on the Forest Service’s Technology and Development publication page (search “trails”), and through our partners at American Trails.