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Mission 11 · First State National Historical Park, DE

First State trail plan

First State National Historical Park

The agency files it as “BRVA- Comprehensive Trail Plan”

Timing

The agency stopped taking comments on September 29. What you find still counts: it backs the formal objections from people who did comment, it goes to the lawyers on the fight, and it is the story.

The sentence we think is wrong

“the singletrack trails have tread widths of 24 to 48 inches”

The agency wrote that in its own document, under Natural, Scenic, and Aesthetic Values. Nobody has been out to check it. A dated photograph either backs it up or ends it.

How you settle it

Walk the narrow foot-and-bike trails in the Brandywine Valley Unit and lay a tape measure across the worn tread at several spots, including popular curves and hill bottoms. A photo of a tape across the worn tread showing the path is clearly narrower or wider than two to four feet.

The decision

The National Park Service is accepting public comments on a written determination for bicycle use rules at the Brandywine Valley Unit of First State National Historical Park, as part of a broader Comprehensive Trail Plan. This decision will establish where and how cyclists can use trails in the park, directly affecting both recreational users and the natural and cultural resources of the area. Hik

Read the whole thing, and write to the agency about it

How to record it so it counts

  1. 01Photograph the route where it leaves a road or trailhead, including any sign or the lack of one.
  2. 02Photograph the worn path itself with your boot or a pole laid across it, so the width shows.
  3. 03Photograph any evidence of use or non-use: tracks, tire marks, litter, cut logs, or brush and fallen trees across it.
  4. 04Sit at the junction for a fixed time you choose (thirty minutes is enough) and count who passes and how: hikers, horses, bikes, motorcycles, ATVs, trucks. Write the count and the times down.
  5. 05Write one paragraph on how you know this route, if you do.
What would count
  • A timed count with the time written down. "Nobody uses it" is an opinion; "zero in thirty minutes on a Saturday at ten" is data.
  • The width of the worn path, with something in the frame to measure it against.
All of it, with the phone settings, in the field guide
Are you going?

Say yes or no. It tells the next person whether anyone has this ground covered, and it is the only way we know a request was answered rather than just read. You can change your mind any time, and nobody follows up.

Join, then say you’re going

Nobody has answered yet

Before you go
  1. Public land only. Plenty of land inside a national forest or park boundary is privately owned, and that is not yours to walk on. A gate or a closure sign means stop. Check the rules for the specific place you are going, because they differ.
  2. Don’t touch survey stakes, flagging, equipment or anything a crew left. Photograph it; leave it.
  3. Don’t approach crews, contractors or agency staff about the project. Don’t interfere with any operation.
  4. Wildlife at a distance. No drones in wilderness or anywhere they’re prohibited. Stay off closed roads and trails.
  5. If you’re not sure, don’t. Weather, terrain, water, fire and people are your call, and yours alone.

More Than Just Parks doesn’t direct where you go or what you do. Terms.