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the trails that guide us around acadia on our family vacations have been in use for thousands of years before us as legacy trails. instead of being used for recreation, legacy trails brought ranchers, indigenous peoples, or firefighters from point a to point b as quickly as possible, long before the times of cars and paved roads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
rising visitation in national parks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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creating the ideal trail<\/h2>\n\n\n\naccording to marion, the ideal trail angle is one that is diagonal to the fall line. in the process of trail design, designers then carefully craft the control points of a trail. these points lay out where the trail needs to begin and end, where people should go, and where people shouldn\u2019t go. in the case of bubble rock, the iconic viewpoint that makes the hike is a positive control point. other examples of positive control points include waterfalls or scenic vistas, any beautiful scenery that humans would stray off the path to see if the trail did not already lead them there. negative control points such as ecologically sensitive sites are used to mark areas that the trail needs to avoid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
marion says that trail design is not rocket science\u2014it’s just a general understanding of the ecological role that outdoor recreationists have on their environment. with all of the steps that go into the design process, trails reemerge as more sustainable and durable to the effects of high foot traffic and natural elements. sustainably built hiking trails mitigate the effects that outdoor recreationists have on their environment while giving them the feeling of being in total wilderness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
with the recent surges in park visitation since the pandemic, recreation ecologists suggest that relying only on sustainable hiking trails isn’t enough. in 2020, visitation records <\/a>were up 335% in july in comparison to may visitation numbers\u2014this figure historically lies at 75%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
christopher monz, ph.d., a professor of recreation resource management at utah state university, explains that visitor management is also key in mitigating the impacts that overcrowding has on hiking trails. he researches visitor impacts in rocky mountain national park in colorado, the fifth most visited park in 2020<\/a>. to reduce overcrowding, rocky mountain national park implemented a timed-entry system into the park. visitors cannot get into the park without a reserved spot at a specific time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n