According to the Connecticut Trail Census, Connecticut is a small state, but it has more than 2,000 miles of recreational trails. Those are a lot of miles but, until a few years ago, no one was counting trail usage within the state.

In 2016, though, the Connecticut Trail Census pilot program launched through a partnership including UConn, the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, the Connecticut Greenways Council, and local trail advocacy organizations. Their goal was to support decisions about trail building, trail access, and maintenance. Initially, the program included 16 multi-use trails across the state.

Laura Brown, a community and economic development educator at UConn Extension who manages the program, says that infrared trail counters detect temperature changes as someone passes by on foot, bike, rollerblades, or horse. Then, to make the data more robust, “We supplement the infrared counters with live surveys of actual trail users,” she said. (In 2020, the team added signs with a QR code to help trail users take the survey without interacting with an interviewer.)

It’s no secret that the events of 2020 increased trail use. In June, the Trail Census team prepared an interim report on COVID impact that showed the increase’s size; the study is available at cttrailcensus.uconn.edu.

“A total of 190,218 uses were recorded across 13 sites in June 2020,” they reported, “which reflects a combined (53%) increase over the same period in 2019 across [study] trails.”

According to Kim Bradley, Trail Census program coordinator, the Airline Trail in East Hampton, which has been part of the study since the beginning, registered the highest number of uses among study trails in the southeastern region. The census has also expanded to 25 locations throughout the state, including the Shoreline Greenway Trail in Madison, as well as Bluff Point State Park and the G&S Trolley Trail, both in Groton, as well one of the shoreline’s “blue-blazed trails” managed by Connecticut Forest and Park Association volunteers.

Benefits of increased visits

Visitor increases are good news to people who manage land for public benefit. For instance, Bradley is is also president of the Avalonia Land Conservancy board of directors.

“While we have seen significant increases in the use of our trails, we have not observed negative impacts,” she said. “We have observed more diversity of individuals visiting our preserves. We’ve had success with connecting new users to our organization, and we’ve seen increased support for our stewardship efforts.” She noted, however, that group stewardship is challenging right now.

At the Connecticut College Arboretum, assistant director Maggie Redfern said, “We are happy for increased visitation during the pandemic. There is plenty of space for folks to be socially distant in the landscape. It’s a benefit to the community.”

“Seeing friends and family reunite at the entrance to the Arboretum has been a special scene that we’ve observed on many occasions,” she added.

In Old Saybrook, Parks and Recreation Director Ray Allen noted the number of children in the town’s open space, walking with family groups.

“It’s an excellent thing to see,” he said, “I hope it signals a long-term change.”

Challenges

With increased use, however, comes wear-and-tear. Some land managers say that new woodland visitors aren’t always aware of best practices.

For instance, Allen said that dogs off-leash have generated some phone calls. His department shares oversight of 930-acre Preserve State Forest with the Forestry Division of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, in addition to overseeing more than 500 acres of town open space.

“All parks in Old Saybrook have a ‘dogs on leash’ policy,” he said. “The policy protects the dogs as much as it does people.”

Allen’s department recently posted all Old Saybrook parks with coyote notices after multiple residents called DEEP about sightings.

“Dog owners can’t easily protect their off-leash pets from wildlife or other dogs,” he said. “Some people point out that if they have to separate their dog from another, it’s difficult to maintain six feet distance from the other dog’s owner if either animal is off-leash.”

Lastly, there is a courtesy factor. “Some people are simply afraid of other people’s unleashed dogs,” he said.

At Conn College Arboretum, “We’ve seen an increase in litter and minor vandalism and graffiti,” Redfern said. “We’ve had to increase maintenance to deal with the increased traffic.”

She notes another phenomenon. “We’ve noticed that people are creating new trails by repeatedly walking on shortcuts,” she said.

Allen also finds user-made trails, sometimes called “guerilla” trails in trail-building circles.

“These are a real problem for forest management,” he said. “They’re not on any maps, so people get lost. And since they’re built without design, they increase erosion. They can also interfere with rare vegetation and animals.”

Despite the challenges, these open space managers — along with others I’ve spoken to — welcome the increase.

“It’s a question of participation and education,” Allen said.

“We look forward to getting new members and volunteers from all the increased activity,” Redfern said.

Kathy Connolly writes and speaks on land care, landscape ecology, and horticulture. She can be reached at kathy@speakingoflandscapes.com.

The trail less traveled

Trail use increased during 2020, but that doesn't mean it is distributed evenly around the state.

"People crowded into the best-known parks," said Eric Hammerling, executive director at Connecticut Forest and Park Association, the keeper of the 825-mile blue-blazed trail system as well as the publisher of the Connecticut Walk Book. "Others remained relatively quiet."

A map of blue-blazed hiking trails, as well as a list of less popular trails, is available at ctwoodlands.org.

Additional resources

Connecticut College Arboretum: conncoll.edu/the-arboretum

Land trust properties: ctconservation.org/land-trusts-by-town

Nature Conservancy properties: nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/connecticut

National Wildlife Refuges: fws.gov/refuge

State forests and parks: portal.ct.gov/DEEP/State-Parks/Listing-of-State-Parks

Trail walking ctwoodlands.org/blue-blazed-hiking-trails/hiker-resources