With so many people out on the pathways right now, a lot of whom might not regularly use pathways and are perhaps a little rusty on their pathways etiquette, Friends of Pathways and the Jackson/Teton County Pathways program would like to remind the community of pathways usage guidelines that help keep all users safe and make sure everyone has an enjoyable experience on our community trails.

Pathways Usage Guidelines during Coronavirus (and all other times too)

• We encourage everyone to travel at a safe speed and make sure you give other pathway users a comfortable amount of space, especially with the current concerns about COVID-19 and social distancing.
• Travel on the right half of the pathway, pass on the left—and only when it’s safe to pass with no oncoming traffic.
• Faster riders yield to slower users—it is always the responsibility of the faster-moving user to pass safely.
• Signal audibly BEFORE passing. Ring your bell or say “on your left” and make sure the person has heard you and knows you’re passing.
• Travel at a safe speed. Watch out for little kids, older folks, and less experienced users who may be less predictable and less steady on their feet or bikes.
• Be alert. Keep an eye out for users approaching from behind, and make sure you can hear and respond to others on the pathway (mind the ear buds!)
• Don’t block the trail. If you’re with a group, make sure to stay on the right half of the pathway. When stopped, please step completely off the side of the path and keep the trail clear for other users.
• Keep dogs under control and clean up after pets. Dogs are required to be on leash on Town of Jackson pathways and under voice control on County pathways. Please bag AND DISPOSE OF your dog’s waste using the Mutt Mitts and the many trash cans provided for your convenience.

We are truly fortunate to have such a connected and accessible pathways system that allows people of all ages and abilities to travel and recreate safely and enjoy some time out of the house. While we’re all coping with the impacts of COVID-19 on our normal daily routine, we remind the community to expect to see many more users on our pathways than usual and to please remember that many of them may not have a lot of experience on shared-use paths. And we encourage everyone to travel safely and be patient and respectful toward your fellow path users.

With the weather this weekend it seemed like a good time to remind people about when not to use the trails.  Our trails hold up well to the amount of use they get and because they get so much traffic they tend to be very compressed and shed water well, especially with the 1000’s of drainage features we have installed and clean out each year.  Because of this my rule of thumb is after it rains, if the roads in town have dried out, the trails are good to go.  That comes with some caveats.  Another thing I look at is the total rainfall, usually 0.3 inches of rain in a 24 hour period is what the trails can handle before they get saturated.  So if it rains hard 3 days in a row the trails might be muddy for a bit longer.  Then when you throw colder temperatures into the mix things get tricky.  When there is a good freeze thaw cycle each day the trails tend to be good/frozen in the morning, followed by a thaw period where the top frozen layer of dirt gets really slimy, you know that kind of mud that sticks to everything.  Then if its sunny, by the afternoon they tend to dry out and be at a good tacky consistency.  With all of this use your own judgement and be aware of what activity you are doing on the trails.  While you may be able to use a trail on foot or bike shortly after a storm, riding a horse may have more impact and it may be better to stay on the roads where the surface is more compact and rocky.  In general take the time to look behind you and see what type of tracks you are leaving and think of the poor trail workers who have to fix those foot prints, hoof prints, and tire ruts.  So get out this afternoon while its nice and if you’re looking for a rainy day project on Saturday morning come out to Wyoming Public Lands Day and volunteer at one of the many projects around the valley.