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To: Bluedot Living
From: Addison Jerlow, Program Manager at Los Padres Forest Association
Subject: How to Hike With Care
The Los Padres Forest Association (LPFA) loves helping happy humans enjoy their local trails. Practicing good trail etiquette is one of the best ways individuals can promote trail sustainability and ensure trails stay open for everyone to enjoy.
What is good trail etiquette?
It begins with understanding that your actions have an impact on both the trail and the trail community. Respect for others and the environment is at the center of each of these principles. Combined, they can help ensure positive, sustainable, and long-lasting recreation opportunities in our local mountains.
- Trash: If you packed it in, pack it out! Even “natural” trash like orange and banana peels take as long as two years to decompose. Please be considerate of wildlife and other trail users and dispose of trash properly. There’s nothing natural about a trail littered with orange peels!
- Right of Way: Bikers yield to hikers. Hikers and bikers yield to equestrians. When hiking downhill, yield to uphill hikers. These rules keep traffic moving smoothly. When yielding to a horse, step to the downhill side of the trail. Follow the lead of the rider when in doubt.
- Noise: Hike quietly, speak softly, and enjoy the nature around you while letting others do the same. Being loud and disruptive, including projecting music on speakers while hiking, is not respectful of wildlife and other hikers.
- Travel: Give trails a day or more to dry after rain events. If your shoes/tires/hoofs are leaving a deep, lasting mark, the trail is too wet to use! Stay on trails. Don’t cut switchbacks. Clean your boots/shoes/hoofs before using new trails. These practices help preserve trail integrity and mitigate the spread of invasive species.
- Pets: Pets are welcome on all trails in the Los Padres, but please keep them on leash and under control. And please, remember to pack out your pet’s waste! No one else is picking up those little baggies left on the side of the trail.
- Bathroom Use: Be sure to travel at least 200 feet from trails, camps, and water sources when disposing of solid human waste. While some forests support burying toilet paper, the Los Padres has too arid a climate for this practice. Please pack it out with the rest of your trash!
- Wildlife: If you’re lucky enough to see any of the diverse wildlife that calls the Los Padres home, please respect them! Keep your distance and never feed wildlife, for your safety and theirs.
LPFA committed more than 22,000 volunteer hours to the forest with 140 projects to maintain more than 85 miles of trails in 2023. With more than 1,000 miles of trails in the Los Padres, there is always more work to be done! Donating or volunteering with LPFA is the best way to help the Los Padres.
If you’d like to participate in Los Padres Forest Association’s trail maintenance, email [email protected].
The Los Padres Forest Association (LPFA) has been an official nonprofit partner of the Los Padres National Forest since 1979. The mission is to care for the Los Padres Forest, ensuring it thrives and remains safe and open for all people to use and enjoy. LPFA organizes dozens of trail maintenance trips each year, ranging from day trips to 10-plus-day-long “working vacations,” deep in the Los Padres backcountry. LPFA also provides outreach and education for local communities and forest users ranging from forest-focused presentations, outdoor education classes, and volunteer training programs to up-to-date forest information bulletins, visitor center management, and graffiti and litter removal projects. Visit LPForest.org to help out today.
