Trail Maintenance and Operation - Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Appendix 2 – Maintenance Schedules
Twenty-five trails responded with more detailed information about when various maintenance tasks are done.
Topping the list of daily tasks were patrols by police and non-police agencies, followed by cleaning of restrooms.
On a weekly basis, trails often do light clean-up work on the trail and trailheads, empty trash cans, do additional
restroom cleaning, and cut the grass. Trails that don’t have the resources to get to these things on a weekly basis do
them monthly. It is quite common, especially for all-volunteer operations, to have monthly work days. Once a
year seems to be a good frequency for applying herbicides, cleaning culverts, inspecting bridges, and catching up
on non-critical repairs. Hands down, “as needed” is the most common frequency for all maintenance tasks except
for trash and toilets. Here is the table of responses:
Table 16: Frequency of Common Maintenance Tasks
Maintenance Activity
How often is it done?
Day Week Month Quarter Year As Needed Other
Repaving of asphalt trail 5
Coating or sealing of asphalt trail 5 5 years
Pothole repair on asphalt trail 5
Snow removal from asphalt trail 6
Surface cleaning of asphalt trail 1 2 1 4
Pavement markings maintenance and replacement 2 3
Resurface non-asphalt trail 12
Grade non-asphalt trail 2 8
Pothole repair and other patches on non-asphalt trail 1 13
Snow removal from non-asphalt trail 2
Surface cleaning of non-asphalt trail 1 5
Keep trail-side land clear of trash and debris 1 4 5 3 9
Mowing 7 5 1 2 6
Leaf removal 2 3 8
Tree pruning 1 1 3 17
Tree removal 1 1 17
Invasive species removal 1 12
Planting new vegetation 1 7
Application of herbicides or pesticides 5 6
Clearing of drainage channels and culverts 4 18
Surface maintenance of parking areas 2 1 3 12
General maintenance of trailheads (litter clean-up, etc.) 1 6 1 1 9
Landscaping/gardening at trailheads 4 2 1 2 4
Empty trash cans at trailheads 2 3 1 2
RAILS-TO-TRAILS CONSERVANCY • 29