Making a forest trail on my property, what type of ground cover should I use?

sorry, i don't have any knowledge about proper layering, but i'd love to a proper 400m track.

ideally the best surface would be something like trimmed golf-course grass, but that requires an obscene amount of maintenance. soft dirt, clear of tripping hazards, would be my second choice.

i think gravel and mulch would be okay, but less ideal, because it'd be tougher, to get some barefoot reps in.

Wood chips mulch would be my first choice but shells sounds pretty cool. Gravel sucks to run on. I hate it more than cement and I don't like running on cement. Dirt in that area might run off in the rain. Mulch breaks down to dirt so might have to replace in 5 years but its most eco friendly and you probably have trees to cut down to make the path anyways?

That does sound nice. This is more of a cross country-type trail. Winding, some up and downs. No way of getting the ground completely level but I’m okay with that.

Mark out a trail and start running on it. Keep removing some stuff from it and a path will magically appear over time.

Isn't a trail when you REMOVE all the ground cover and you are left with dirt?

Cutter Mattock Mcleod Pulaski wrote:

Isn't a trail when you REMOVE all the ground cover and you are left with dirt?

The cover layer (mulch, gravel, ...) is typically to prevent plants from sprouting up on the trail.

Do not overthink this wrote:

Mark out a trail and start running on it. Keep removing some stuff from it and a path will magically appear over time.

He's right. It will become a trail the more you run on it. Don't over think it is correct.

will run for ice cream wrote:

i think gravel and mulch would be okay, but less ideal, because it'd be tougher, to get some barefoot reps in.

Gravel would be terrible because it is hard and slippery. Personally, I feel the best possible surface would be dirt.

How are you planning to clear the land?

A light mulch might be good, but no wood clips because they are too hard and/or sharp.

Youtuber Seth's Bike Hacks has been building trails on his new property for the past year and has some nice videos.

https://youtu.be/gU9pe7QB-O8

https://youtu.be/DQNFGW1dqCI

Disclaimer: I’m no expert.

Do some research about cost of materialS (and think about what kind of equipment you have/will need.) You might be able to “sign up” with your power company to have wood chips dumped on your property as they clear power line easements. Things like oyster shells are okay, but they’re not my favorite. I think they get used in places where it is cheap b/c of the lower maintenance.

think about the topography and soil type. I’m not familiar with VA, but if it has a decent amount of clay you might be able to follow the recommendations of posters to just wear down a trail. You could then selectively reinforce/add drainage as needed. Something like a walk behind tiller could be useful to initially layout the loop (be careful if you have rocks). For drainage areas/cuts, I’d use something like gravel, or maybe a French drain type thing.

Have fun! I’m jealous

Two acres is not much space for a 400m loop. I have three acres and have a grass path meandering around the perimeter and it is almost 400m. It's fine for walking, but running it sucks. You'll be doing a lot of turns if you try to cram 400m into 2 acres.

Woodchips or just nothing

I have 10 acres of woods. I have a trail in my woods that stays pretty clear just from regular use. I started by raking and leaf blowing initially, and using a weed eater for more over-grown areas.

It is just dirt with now layer materials

Lenny Leonard wrote:

I have two acres of woods that I would like to cut a running trail into. The total distance is going to be approximately 400m (1320ft).

For those with experience, how should I prep the ground, and what kind of material should I lay down on it? Mulch, dirt, shells, gravel, something else?

This is in Virginia. Gets pretty lush with berries, briars, ivy, and other ground covering each year.

Or you could hire a couple of kids with dirt bikes to cut you a figure 8 circuit. You'd probably get more than 400 m out of that. For a running surface get shredded rubber tires. They won't rot like wood chips.

HappyJack wrote:

Lenny Leonard wrote:

I have two acres of woods that I would like to cut a running trail into. The total distance is going to be approximately 400m (1320ft).

For those with experience, how should I prep the ground, and what kind of material should I lay down on it? Mulch, dirt, shells, gravel, something else?

This is in Virginia. Gets pretty lush with berries, briars, ivy, and other ground covering each year.

Or you could hire a couple of kids with dirt bikes to cut you a figure 8 circuit. You'd probably get more than 400 m out of that. For a running surface get shredded rubber tires. They won't rot like wood chips.

Hard disagree. Now you have irreversibly polluted the environnment forever.

Don't do that. I would lean towards materials that are naturally present in your woods. I would even avoid crushed gravel except maybe for a few wet spots.

Lenny Leonard wrote:

I have two acres of woods that I would like to cut a running trail into. The total distance is going to be approximately 400m (1320ft).

For those with experience, how should I prep the ground, and what kind of material should I lay down on it? Mulch, dirt, shells, gravel, something else?

This is in Virginia. Gets pretty lush with berries, briars, ivy, and other ground covering each year.

Can you set it up where you can mow it regularly? Is the current soil hard enough to hold its form? If so then you just need to clear the large debris, mow it on lowest level and leave the native soil/ground covering. Perhaps flattening certain sections (side to side) so you aren’t running on a camber. I’ve seen mostly dirt around here (GA) with occasional strategic use of drainage rock or rip rap in areas tending to wash out.

Lenny Leonard wrote:

That does sound nice. This is more of a cross country-type trail. Winding, some up and downs. No way of getting the ground completely level but I’m okay with that.

I have a 5 acre lot that I put running and walking trails through. Clear everything out and make it so you can run a lawn mower or tractor through it. Mulch would be nice but I only did the very beginning with mulch for the appearance. Even doing laps on it I found it pretty boring to run. It hilly and it made good cross country ski and mountain bike trails though.

I put a running trail through my property. I have little kids so it can be tricky getting runs in since I can't leave them along yet. Having a running trail lets me run and have them at home.

I walked through the property and figured out where I wanted the trail. Then used a chain saw to take down any trees that were in the way. I didn't want to cut down anything big which is why I planned the trail ahead of time. I cleared the path area of any stumps, rocks, dead limbs ect and then took a Kubota with a back blade and scraped a 3' path.

I run on it and my dog uses it as well which keeps it pretty clear on its own. I periodically drive my lawn tractor through it and mow it down as the plants try and encroach on it.

Its basically the same process that mountain bikers use for keeping the trails they use clear. If you use it, it pretty much keeps care of itself.

Some people have said use mulch or wood chips. I strongly recommend against that. I have run on paths with wood chips or mulch. It constantly is getting kicked up and getting into your shoes and socks. Plus its expensive and you have to keep replenishing it. If you want yourself a fancy mans running path do something like crushed gravel (don't use pea stone). It will be expensive though and in my opinion isn't worth it.