The rakes started raking, and the seeds will soon begin seeding on the trails identified by NoCo Places agencies for restoration. The unauthorized trails rehabilitation project is a collaboration of NoCo Places and its associated public land management agencies, and the Larimer County Conservation Corps.
The first “boots-on-the-ground” project undertaken by NoCo Places, this effort aims to restore user-created trails that are not part of an official system. User-created trails go by many names: unauthorized, undesignated, illegal, and social trails. No matter how you identify them, they are trails that can pose management challenges, degrade the environment, or be hazardous for visitors.
The Process: GIS Mapping and Ground-Truthing
The issue of unauthorized trails was raised by the NoCo Places Board of Directors as a regional management priority. The project began in 2025 with background research and scoping. First, the NoCo member agencies identified hotspot priority areas on their managed lands and provided any existing GIS data they had on unauthorized trails.
Next, a consultant was brought on to create a GIS basemap, and online research was conducted, resulting in 203 possible locations of unauthorized trails. Then the consultant conducted field research and visited sites to identify unauthorized trails.
In total, 345 miles of unauthorized trails were identified through this research. Unfortunately, that number still does not fully represent all of the unauthorized trails in the region.
GPS was used to create an inventory of linear features/miles with select attributes assigned, and photos/waypoints of unique identifiers were georeferenced.
Lastly, the data was overlaid with NoCo’s biodiversity mapping, which was part of their Conservation and Recreation Vision, allowing land managers to develop a prioritized list of actions for the identified trails. As a result of the developed criteria, trails may be rehabilitated, continue to be monitored, or, in some cases, become part of an existing trails system.
Conservation Corps Partnership
NoCo Places partnered with the Larimer County Conservation Corps (LCCC) for the recruitment of a trails crew aged 18 and up. Located in Fort Collins, the LCCC hosts crews who conduct hands-on conservation and environmental work, including forestry, trail work, land conservation, and water and energy conservation. The LCCC is housed within and administered by the Larimer County Economic and Workforce Development.
The six-person crew began work this week in a Jefferson County Parks and Open Space location. The crew has been asked to address material loss on unauthorized trails due to their location, causing erosion and drainage issues. Restoring these trails will also decrease habitat fragmentation in the area, creating buffer zones for wildlife.
A Regional Convener for Needed Trail Work
The project will extend into October this year, and the crew will work throughout the entire NoCo region.
Only a small fraction of the identified unauthorized trails will be restored and closed off this year. The problem is vast and not quickly remedied by a six-person crew. Starting off small, the agencies are looking to restore trails that damage natural resources, impact wildlife, create drainage and erosion issues, or cause visitors to become lost.
While the project may be small in scale, it is nevertheless a helping hand to land management agencies, as they receive trail work at no cost. This is especially noteworthy for smaller counties or agencies that lack open space programs, trail crews, or the funding to address problematic unauthorized trails.
Accompanying Educational Campaign
As part of this effort, educational stewardship messages will be shared with visitors to the NoCo region. A stewardship campaign detailing the cumulative impact of using unauthorized trails will run throughout the summer and into the fall on social media and at trailheads.
Called “The Weight of the Tread”, the campaign aims to demonstrate how the tread of shoes, tires, and horse hoofs on off-system trails adds up and has far-reaching impacts.
Project Information
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