How to stop people from poaching private singletrack?

[WTF is dat]

I recently moved across town to a new neighborhood for the purposes of being closer to work and grad school. I moved into a cool new neighborhood and one of the biggest selling points for me is that the neighborhood backs up to wilderness area, with about 500 acres of private open space owned by the neighborhood. The neighborhood also has it's own private singletrack trails running through the open space. There is a total of about 8 miles of singletrack, 2 loop trails and 2 smaller trails connecting the loops. The trails are flowy, mellow meadow skipping type trails and see a lot of families and kids from the neighborhood. I also jog on them if I am not in the mood for a bike ride.

The trails connect to a heavily used regional mountain biking trail. This trail sees quite a bit of traffic. Despite the fact that we have no trespassing signs posted, a lot of people seem to enjoy poaching our trails. Our private trails see less use than the public trails and are therefore in much better shape. Lately I have been getting annoyed with all of the people poaching our private single track trails. It isn't even the blatant trespassing that bothers me... It is the fact that these people who poach the trails seem to have no respect.

There is a large group of 8 or 9 bikeriders who regularly poach our trails to add extra mileage to their trips and enjoy our trails which are "better". They fly through the trails with no regard for the kids and families that might be using the trails. I have come around blind corners and been scared shitless by some of these people, and almost got nailed one day while I was out for a run. Another time I had to quickly bail off the trail to avoid someone flying along the trail and ended up running my bike through some thistle. This gave me 2 flat tires. It seems that these people simply use our trails as a fun way for them to add mileage to their rides before connecting back to the public trails. After big rain events in the summer I began to notice that some people were often poaching the trails while they were still very muddy, leaving big ruts in the trails. One of the steepest sections of the trail became borderline dangerous after some particularly heavy use following a rain storm.

I was at the neighborhood pool one day and started chatting up a couple guys with really nice bikes. After talking to them for a few minutes it turned out that they didn't even live in the neighborhood. They were biking the regional public trail from a nearby town and using our trails because they were "the best". These guys even had the balls to sneak into our neighborhood pool when the lifeguards weren't looking to cool off mid bike ride. Looking back on the situation I really should have confronted these guys and told them they were trespassing, but I am a generally non confrontational person.

Another thing that bothers me about this situation is that the trails are our neighborhood's responsibility to maintain, so any repairs / maintenance of the trails will cost the neighborhood, not the people poaching the trails. So what do you guys think? Should I just get over it? I realize this is a first world problem, but something about this situation has been irritating me. I was thinking about going to the board and asking for bigger no trespassing signs to be posted, however I think most of the people poaching the trails already know they are trespassing. Should I start calling people out that I know are trespassing??

Any ideas?

[skaredshtles]

Ken-Caryl Valley has tags that you need to identify yourself as a bike-riding resident and they have rangers that patrol their trail.

At least I think that's how they do it.

[muted]

Geez, the internet confrontational person is non-confrontational in person, that's lame.

get the board to hire a cop for one busy weekend. He can bust people or warn them, and word will get out to others hopefully.

[adrenalated]

Complain to your HOA board, or maybe write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, maybe post to Nextdoor, like everyone else with first world problems does.

[gravitylover]

Block the easy access points from the public trails. Sure it will make it a hassle for you to leave and re-enter your network but it should accomplish the goal at least temporarily. Maybe also take their picture and post it to the local groups FB page if there is one and publicly call them out for trespassing.

[jackstraw]

No trespassing signs suck.

People being disrespectful suck worse.

I love poaching.

I might spend more time maintaining and building then I do riding. So there's that.

[teledad]

The trails connect to a heavily used regional mountain biking trail. This trail sees quite a bit of traffic.

There's your problem. If you don't want people on your trails, don't connect them to other (public?) trails. Or make the connection sufficiently awkward/difficult that it's easier to just ride elsewhere (e.g. a locked gate that's hard to get a bike over, with enough fence that it's not easy to just go around).

[plugboots]

Use tags attached at the seatpost. Like http://www.boyscouts-marin.org/tamarancho-biking/4023

[XXX-er]

a fence

[BCMtnHound]

I think as long as your trails are connected to the public ones, you are fucked and hardcore enforcement at the boundary is the only option.

[WTF is dat]

Use tags attached at the seatpost. Like http://www.boyscouts-marin.org/tamarancho-biking/4023

I like this idea but think it would require enforcement. I don’t think the neighborhood would be on board with hiring security.

We are already required to carry our neighborhood ID while on the trail but I don’t see the point without enforcement.


I agree with whoever said we are fucked without enforcement. I guess I should just get over it and maybe start calling out people who are clearly poaching and riding dangerously

[evdog]

Good luck. MTBers can be the worlds biggest entitled assholes. Once they discover and get habituated to riding certain trails you are going to have a hell of a time keeping them away. Just ask the Marines here in SD. Armed MPs and citations weren't enough of a deterrent. Riders didn't get the message until MPs started confiscating their bikes. And the trail in question was pretty mediocre. The City here tries half-heartedly to keep people off certain trails with ranger patrols and the occasional police presence, but the moment they are gone riders are back out there. Hard to patrol when people are out there riding morning noon and night. Round the clock permanent patrols are the only thing that will work, but no one will want to pay for that. The most practical suggestion from above is to separate the neighborhood trails from the public network. People will climb over or ride around fences and gates. You have to make it hard enough that it is no longer worth their effort for the reward of accessing the neighborhood trails - ie, completely obliterate the connector trail so it is no longer passable. Chances are the stubborn ones will still ride in through the front gate. The best advice may be to just get over it. Some access control may keep the honest majority away. Maybe there is a retired hateful old hiker you can station at the entrance to yell at non residents?

[El Chupacabra]

Build a wall, a big beautiful wall, and make the poachers pay for it.

[El Chupacabra]

Maybe there is a retired hateful old hiker you can station at the entrance to yell at non residents?

How about this guy?

http://mjvande.info/

[Peruvian]

What’s the HOA’s liability by knowingly allowing nonresidents to ride the trails? That might get the board to reconsider security.

[teledad]

Another approach would be to swap the no trespassing signs for ones about trail etiquette and reach out to local MTB orgs to help with usage issues, maintenance, etc.. I.e. allow others to ride there but encourage them to act responsibly and feel some sort of responsibility. Could even build new trails to help with the access conflicts. 500 acres is a lot, you could easily have 20-30 miles of trail without it feeling too crowded.

[Skistack]

And the sign said anybody caught trespassin' would be shot on sight.....

[V-rex]

I like this idea but think it would require enforcement. I don’t think the neighborhood would be on board with hiring security.

We are already required to carry our neighborhood ID while on the trail but I don’t see the point without enforcement.


I agree with whoever said we are fucked without enforcement. I guess I should just get over it and maybe start calling out people who are clearly poaching and riding dangerously

Dress up like a security guard and start handing out "citations." Be the change you wish to see in the world.

Another approach would be to swap the no trespassing signs for ones about trail etiquette and reach out to local MTB orgs to help with usage issues, maintenance, etc.. I.e. allow others to ride there but encourage them to act responsibly and feel some sort of responsibility. Could even build new trails to help with the access conflicts. 500 acres is a lot, you could easily have 20-30 miles of trail without it feeling too crowded.

^Actually just do this

[grinch]

I’d love to drop a big greasy oh Henry in that pool

[El Chupacabra]

And the sign said anybody caught trespassin' would be shot on sight.....

Wear a rent-a-cop uniform and shoot trespassers with a paintball gun.

[NW_SKIER]

Dog poop under their handlebars

[cmcrawfo]

Or consider reaching out the local riding group / trail organization. Engage with them, get some trail maintenance hours from them, and work with them to promote trail etiquette.

You could put out a pile of negative energy to try and shut down access...and aside from completely fencing off your property that's never going to be successful. Or you could put the same or less energy ( and likely lower costs) to benefit both communities.

Why you gotta be so elitist. You segregated elite should pay it forward from time to time.

[simple]

Ken-Caryl Valley has tags that you need to identify yourself as a bike-riding resident and they have rangers that patrol their trail.

At least I think that's how they do it.

the KC residents self police as well. Wherever WTF lives should use the wrist bands and self police as well. Stop being pussies and say something. KC trails rarely get poached because you will hear it from a resident if you are there without a wrist band.

[XXX-er]

yer in America and you don't have guns?

[toast2266]

On a busy weekend, keep an eye out for poachers. Pick a sizable group. Then follow the weakest one home, and take a dump in his back yard while yelling "see how it feels, motherfucker!?" And maybe fuck his wife while you're there.

Goddamn trespassers have no respect.