Oz Trails Leaf Blowing Guidelines
Fall in Oz is a wonderful time for mountain biking with the autumn colors, cool temperatures, and few insects. Leaves begin to fall in mid-October with the majority of leaves falling sometimes within a week in early November. Trail systems with a high volume of riders usually end up mulching up the leaves with their tires daily, as they fall, creating a nice organic layer that quiets the trail tread and adds to the serene experience of riding in the woods.
Trail systems with a lower volume of riders can be overwhelmed with a thick layer of leaves that cause the trail to disappear and cover rocks, roots, and other obstacles, lowering the quality of the ride experience. Additionally, flow trails, jump lines, berms, rock jumps, rock obstacles, and other technical features can be hard to navigate when buried in leaves and slick with leaf cover. Leaf cover helps protect against freeze-thaw.
A healthy debate occurs around October 15th each year on whether to blow, or not to blow leaves off of the trail. For this reason, a “seasoned” team of experts have collaborated on the following guidelines when it comes to managing leaf fall on trails in Northwest Arkansas. Leaf cover can help to protect against freeze-thaw but can also lead to blocked drainage areas or deep collections in berms that cause puddling on trails. Where leaf blowing is not recommended, raking the trail is preferred. It's tempting to use the leaf blower on the entire trail but in order to ensure the sustainability of our trails through the years, following these guidelines is paramount. When blowing leaves, it is important to only blow the leaves off of the trail. If and when the operator notices that they are disturbing the tread surface, they need to throttle down and blow at a rate in which only leaves and organic matter are being removed from the trails. If the operator is observing that they are removing rocks and dirt, they need to adjust accordingly to preserve the tread surface. In addition it can make sense to do an early leaf rake or light blowing on single-track before all leaves fall to remove large stones and sticks that may be hidden when the remaining leaves fall.
Leaf Blowing NOT Recommended
Singletrack trail in high volume ride areas
Example trails: single track at Slaughter Pen, Kessler, Lake Atalanta, Little Sugar
Most of Little Sugar, Blowing Springs, and Back 40 singletrack will not need to be leaf-blown or raked, other than clearing drains, or deep collections in the larger berms.
Leaf Blowing Recommended
Downhill fast jump lines Ex: Fireline at Coler
Trails with large berms to improve traction
Hard surface trails Ex: Leopards Loop, Choo Choo, and Black Bird at Slaughterpen
Trails with a low volume of riders can remove the top layer to expose obstacles and ease navigation. Example Trail: Upper Buffalo Trail System technical alternate lines like Apple Turnover Slaughter Pen