Paving the Way: AMC's Innovative Approach to Building Inclusive Hiking Trails
Let's Chat About Accessible Trails
In autumn 2023, AMC's trail dream squad unveiled a unique walkway - the Cardigan All Persons Trail (APT) - at the AMC Cardigan Lodge in New Hampshire. This half-mile path caters to everyone, from wheelchair users to parents pushing strollers. APTs are designed according to Forest Service Accessible Trail Guidelines, ensuring a wider path with a smooth, consistent surface, weather-resistant drains, and signage to help users navigate the trail.
Hiking enthusiast and enthusiastic APT reviewer, Enock Glidden, looks for potential obstacles, such as large rocks, steep inclines, and insufficient signage, when assessing trail accessibility. With the COVID-19 pandemic prompting an increase in outdoor activities, trail-building organizations like AMC felt the need to modify public spaces to accommodate a wider range of visitors.
For those living with disabilities, the great outdoors can be tough to explore. However, projects like AMC's trail construction are helping to make the outdoors more accessible. APT construction demands specialized machinery and equipment, and logistical challenges like transporting heavy loads through narrow terrain. Building accessible trails near existing roads not only cuts costs but also ensures that more people can reach the trail.
In building the Cardigan APT, the AMC Professional Trail Crew turned to both in-house expertise and partner organizations in the trail-building community. Cross-community collaboration has been crucial to AMC's success in this new endeavor. As a result, the organization is now constructing All Persons Trails at the AMC Noble View Center in western Massachusetts, Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary, Pawtucket Farm Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Great Meadow Loop Trail in Maine.
Resident AMC trail veterans Ellie Pelletier and Becca McNeeley spearhead the team, having honed their skills with machine building while working for private contractors. The culture of collaboration among Northeast trail builders was a considerable factor behind this project's success. AMC also collaborates with landowners to build recreational infrastructure, making them an ideal partner for trail projects.
While AMC's trail crew focuses primarily on maintaining paths on AMC properties, they also take on contract work for landowners across the Northeast. Partner organizations like Mass Audubon trust AMC to handle their accessibility projects, which bodes well for ongoing collaborations in the future.
So, next time you're out for a hike, consider how AMC is making the outdoors more accessible to people with diverse abilities. It's not just about shovels and human-powered wheelbarrows anymore - it's about embracing innovation, adapting old trails, and crafting new ones that cater to everyone.
The AMC Noble View Center in western Massachusetts is currently undergoing a transformation, as the organization is constructing an All Persons Trail (APT) there, aiming to create a more inclusive home-and-garden setting that incorporates outdoor-living spaces. This commitment to accessibility extends to other locations like Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary, Pawtucket Farm Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Great Meadow Loop Trail in Maine.
