A social trail is an unofficial path that forms as visitors take shortcuts or detours off designated trails. With enough feet, it wears down until it can look like an official trail. Social trails are not patrolled, maintained or monitored.
An area of the park trampled and damaged by walkers off the trail. NPS photo.
Harm to the land
Official trails are placed where they are for reasons: to limit erosion, to show the scenery, and to keep clear of sensitive plants and animals. Hikers who leave them walk through animal habitat, which can harm individual animals and biodiversity as a whole. Social trails also trample small plants and fungi and erode the soil, which can badly damage tree roots and stress the trees.
Roots damaged along an unauthorised social trail. NPS photo.
Risk to people
Because social trails are not designed, maintained or monitored, they are more hazardous: downed trees, uneven ground, ticks and snakes. They branch off real trails with no markers, so it is easier to get lost, and they can lead to confusing places with unknown dangers. That raises the risk of accidents, and makes it harder to find someone in an emergency.
What you can do
Stay on marked trails, check the signs at the trailhead, and carry a map so you know the right route. You will protect yourself, other visitors, and the habitats of many plants, fungi and animals, and set a good example for others.
Sources
- National Park Service, "Social Trails... Not for Socializing." https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/social-trails.htm
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
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