Bird and Hike.com Glossary - Trail, Use-trail, and Route

Glossary -- Trails, Use-trails, and Routes

Trails, Use-Trails, and Routes are paths developed to different degrees.

	Trail: Trails are paths laid out, developed, and maintained to greater or lesser degrees by land management agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, the BLM, and the National Park Service. Trails usually have signs, a wide tread, switchbacks on steep hillsides, and waterbars to direct water off the tread. When necessary, trails might have safety features such as railings or chains.
	Use-Trail. An unofficial trail pounded into the ground by the passage of hikers. Use-trails almost never have signs, the tread usually is narrow, and they tend to go steeply up and down hillsides. Obscure parts of the use-trail might be marked by cairns.
	Route. A way to go, but not a trail or use-trail. Cairns may mark a route, or a route might run up a wash, across slickrock, or just out across the landscape.

Happy hiking!
Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.

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© 2012 Jim Boone; Last updated 110205

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