How WTA is building trails for a changing world

Washington Trails Association’s work to care for our trail system means overcoming a lot of challenges. Increasingly, one of those challenges is climate change, which is affecting trails and the ecosystems they pass through.

While trail work won’t stop climate change, thoughtful trail design can go a long way toward maintaining access to the backcountry and preserving its health in the face of a changing climate. And for hikers who want to make a difference in a problem that can feel overwhelming, joining WTA in that work is a tangible way to make a difference.

If predictions hold, backcountry use will increase in the coming years. Sustainable backcountry trails protect ecosystems by keeping people on established routes, preventing the creation of damaging informal trails. They also provide access to wild places. Spending time in the backcountry encourages appreciation, stewardship and conservation. People are more likely to care about and protect what they know and experience. 

WTA is working across the state to ensure continued access to trails, while building a system that can withstand climate change and protect delicate habitats. 

Combating erosion

In 2023, WTA crews worked at Mount Pilchuck to create sustainable trail surfaces, including this turnpike, to prevent erosion and keep hikers on trail. Photo by Brandon Tigner.

One of the challenges of climate change is increased erosion, which means WTA’s focus on designing trails that hold up will be increasingly important. Drier soil erodes faster and more easily. That means erosion will accelerate as summers become hotter, longer and drier. Additionally, forest fires fell trees and can permanently damage soils. Fewer standing trees mean fewer leaves on the ground. With fewer leaves to decompose, the amount of available rich soil lessens. 

The North Cascades watersheds are also projected to become rainier — rather than snowy — and flooding increases runoff. Increased erosion and runoff can lead to more sediment in streams, which affects the plants and animals that rely on clear water, such as salmon.

Perhaps counterintuitively, it will also be important to maintain drainage, since ensuring the water has somewhere to go will reduce the chances of a trail washing away during heavy rains and in spring runoff.

The U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station says that soil loss is important because soil creation is so slow. Once it’s gone, “it is essentially permanent.”

Reducing risks for plants and wildlife

Backcountry plants and wildlife are also affected by climate change, in particular by rising temperatures, changes in precipitation and disturbances like wildfires. Species are moving farther north and to higher elevations. As a result, remote backcountry locations could become habitat for more or different species than have typically lived in these areas. Climate change is also driving shifts in events like the hibernation and breeding of animals, and the fruiting and loss of leaves for plants.

As more people visit the backcountry due to the longer snow-free seasons that come with climate change, human and animal encounters will likely increase. Well-established and maintained trails could reduce the overall impact on plants and wildlife by encouraging people to stay in the trail corridor, rather than follow social trails. That limits the impact on vegetation and keeps hikers in a more predictable area for wildlife. 

Designing for the future 

Ongoing maintenance and sustainable trail design also address our aging trail networks. For example, a broken bridge sitting in a creek means hikers have to find an alternate route across water. This can create a social trail through a sensitive area, and the presence of non-natural wood in the creek can affect the aquatic ecosystem. Building a reroute or repairing the bridge restores sustainability of the route and reduces the impacts on the environment. Many trails, built decades ago, no longer meet modern sustainability standards, and aging trails continue to deteriorate and intensify climate sensitivity.

How WTA is doing the work 

WTA’s extensive backcountry trail maintenance program operates two types of crews: 

WTA’s Lost Trails Found crews: These professional crews are paid seasonal staff who spend their summer in the backcountry. They focus on those areas that are the hardest to reach and trails that are at risk of disappearing entirely due to natural disasters, lack of maintenance and funding, or other existential threats. 

Backcountry response teams (BCRT): These volunteer-based crews take on multiday trips that combine backpacking with trail maintenance. They work across the state and focus on routine upkeep, updating aging infrastructure and tackling projects beyond the reach of one-day work parties.

WTA's multiday work parties are able to take on bigger projects and head deeper into the backcountry than single-day work parties. Photo by Stasia Honnold.

We can’t do it alone

WTA has extensive partnerships with the Forest Service and other land agencies in Washington to tackle issues exacerbated by climate change with sustainable trail work. But those agencies don’t have the funding they need. 

If you are in the backcountry, the odds are good you are on land managed by the Forest Service — the Forest Service manages more miles of trail than any other public lands agency in the state. Right now, a funding and staffing crisis has meant workforce cuts that will put Forest Service trail services critical to climate resilience at risk. 

We need the advocacy of hikers and continued action by Congress to direct funding to repair access to public lands and fund the necessary positions at the Forest Service, including trail crews to enable efforts toward climate resiliency. 

How WTA builds trails for climate resiliency

• Sustainable trail design
• See illustrations and read more about what WTA keeps in mind as we build trails that last as the climate changes. 

• Soil assessment: Place trails to avoid sensitive soils. Look for soils with good drainage for long-term trail stability.
• Mind the grade: Keep trails from getting too steep — steeper trails erode faster.
• Winding route: Switchbacks hold up better than steep, straight trails. Routing trails through dense vegetation can keep hikers from widening trails or creating informal routes.
• Hydrology assessment: Climate change will shift how much and where water will flow. We always ask: “What would water do?”
• Tread slope: To keep water from standing on or flowing down the trail, the outer edge should gently slope away from the hillside and the tread should undulate, rather than constantly climb.
• Sustainable construction: Building drainage, ditches and structures like turnpikes directs water away from the trail and reduces erosion and runoff. Turnpikes also keep hikers from going off trail to avoid wet areas. 
• Species assessment: Trails are routed to minimize impacts on wildlife, by avoiding nesting areas, for instance. We also consider how species could shift as the climate changes.

How you can help

The impacts of climate change in the backcountry affect us all — whether it’s your favorite meadow disappearing or the destructive, increased intensity and scale of wildfires in your region. 

Improving Washington’s backcountry trails is a tangible step toward climate resiliency. Here’s how you can get involved:

• Volunteer with us on trail! Join a WTA BCRT. Check out our schedule of BCRTs and day work parties.
• Support our advocacy work and Lost Trails Found crews with a donation today.
• Sign up for our Trail Action Network to help call for more trail maintenance funding at the state and federal level.