Trail Builder Magazine

12/23/2025

If your town has trails but hesitates to call itself a trail town, this one is for you.

Many trail organizations and volunteer advocates feel caught in the middle. You want support and visibility, but you do not want to invite chaos or market something your community is still building.

In our latest article, we break down a practical, realistic approach to putting an emerging trail town on the map. Not through hype or ads, but through consistent documentation, storytelling, and social media that actually works with limited budgets.

This is written for rural communities, nonprofits, and trail groups who want to start now and bring leadership along with them.

A practical, step-by-step guide to putting an emerging trail town on the map using social media. Learn how trail organizations and rural communities can document trail work, build momentum, and gain local support without big budgets or hype.

12/22/2025

What if the most important thing you build never shows up on a screen?

In Volume 3, Issue 2 of Trail Builder Magazine, Pat Pero reminds us that trail building is about far more than dirt and tools. It’s about culture. Memory. Belonging. The kind of work that outlasts trends, apps, and Wi-Fi signals.

This story explores how trail culture takes root when digging stops feeling like volunteering and starts feeling like a normal Saturday with friends, coffee, and shared purpose. It’s about kids, parents, longtime builders, and first-timers all leaving something behind that will still be there decades from now.

Volume 3, Issue 2 is here: https://www.trailbuildermag.com/volume-3-issue-2

12/18/2025

What happens when you stop chasing famous trail towns and start driving north instead?

In Volume 3, Issue 2 of Trail Builder Magazine, Abby Cooper heads into Northeast British Columbia for a road trip shaped by long daylight, quiet highways, and trail networks built far from the spotlight. From alpine ridgelines and loamy forest descents to dinosaur tracks and après-ride lake dips, this story is not only about riding, but it’s also about the builders and communities quietly shaping something special.

Northern Lines is a reminder that some of the most meaningful trail experiences live in places you rarely see on a map or a reel.

Volume 3, Issue 2 is here: https://www.trailbuildermag.com/volume-3-issue-2

12/17/2025

Volume 3, Issue 2 of Trail Builder Magazine is officially here.

This issue brings together six feature stories exploring trail building legacy, technology, tools, and the communities shaping trails around the world. From new jumplines in Germany to remote trail networks in Northern BC, from long-term tool reviews to big questions about trail sanctioning, this issue reflects where trail building is headed right now.

Volume 3, Issue 2 of Trail Builder Magazine features six in-depth stories on trail building, technology, tools, and global trail communities shaping the future of trails.

12/15/2025

What happens when one tool quietly earns its place in your pack for two full years?

In Volume 3, Issue 2 of Trail Builder Magazine, Willard Bruce puts the Trailtool Pocket to the long test. Not a first impression. Not a parking lot review. Two years of real trail work across Europe, from flow trails to backcountry maintenance.

This feature digs into what actually matters when you are miles from the trailhead. Durability. Versatility. Weight. And whether a packable tool can truly replace carrying multiple full-size options.

If you care about the tools that shape the trails we ride, this one is worth your time.

Volume 3, Issue 2 is arriving soon. Print and digital subscribers get first access.

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/44fVkOt

12/11/2025

With our upcoming Volume 3, Issue 2 arriving from the printer any day now, I want to take this moment to share about our subscriptions.

Why are they important?

As I shared before, our growing subscriber base has allowed us to publish this next issue 100% ad-free. That's a big deal to me in the volatile print magazine industry.

Next, it's always a juggle determining how many magazines to print for each issue. Having stable subscriber numbers gives me a better understanding, so I'm not printing too many. Like with any issue, once they're sold out, they're sold out. Subscribers always get first priority. Digital subscribers? You're in e-bike mode ... chill. We never run out of digital issues.

Lastly, as a subscriber, you have access to industry discounts with over 20 brand partners (and growing). The savings will more than pay for your magazine subscription.

Learn more and subscribe: https://bit.ly/44fVkOt

12/09/2025

I am seeing a pattern across the trail building world. The work is getting bigger. Expectations are rising. And more people are treating trail building as a career with real skills, training, and pathways.

What began with rogue builders carving lines on local hillsides is becoming something much larger. Colleges are launching trail building programs. National organizations are offering certifications. New builders are entering the field on purpose, not by accident.

This shift will shape how trails are planned, built, and cared for in the years ahead.

How do you think this new era should take shape?

Discover how trail building is evolving into a professional career as mountain biking grows. Explore training programs, certification, and industry trends shaping the future.

12/08/2025

Every year, we hear the same thing from trail builders around the world. The work is getting bigger. The expectations are getting higher. And the industry is starting to look a lot more like a profession with its own skills, standards, and pathways.

Here is the real question.

As mountain biking grows, how should the trail building world grow with it?

We are seeing college programs training the next generation of builders, national organizations offering certifications, and more young people asking how to make trail building their career.

Is this the next major evolution of our industry?

Or will professionalization change who gets to shape the trails we ride?

Let’s talk about it.

12/04/2025

Social media is so much more than marketing and hype for trail builders, nonprofits, and trail companies.

It is education.
It is communication.
It is advocacy.
It is community.

And it is how people begin to feel connected to the mission. When people understand the work, they show up. When they see the impact, they care. When they see the people behind the work, they trust you.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3Md0ILe

12/03/2025

I spend a lot of time with trail builders. Enough to notice a pattern. Most orgs want to tell their story. They want people to understand the work. But social media feels overwhelming, so they avoid it until they have more time.

This month, I wrote a practical and tactical social media guide to help you start where you are. No pressure to be perfect. Just a clear plan for showing the work, the people, and the impact.

If your trail organization needs a simple social media strategy, this one is for you.

A practical social media strategy for trail organizations, volunteers, and trail companies. Learn how to show the work, the impact, and the people, and discover the best platforms, weekly posting plans, and content ideas to grow support, recruit volunteers, and strengthen your trail community.

12/01/2025

Which social media platform is the best place to talk about trail building?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this as I work on the next article this week for Trail Builder Mag.

We all know Instagram is our biggest channel. It is where most of the global trail building community hangs out. But platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Reddit, LinkedIn, and even X each play a different role.

So I want to hear from you.

Where do you think trail building conversations work best?
Where do you share your work, your wins, and your updates?
And where do you see the strongest response from your community?

Your answers will help shape the article. Add your thoughts in the comments.

11/28/2025

Here is something worth celebrating. Our next print issue is completely ad-free. That only happened because subscriptions are growing. Your support gave us room to focus on the stories and the people doing the work.

Here is why that matters. The more our subscriber base grows, the more we can expand what we cover. More topics. More writers. More online articles. Growth creates possibility. Possibility creates momentum. And that is exactly what we are feeling right now.

If you want to help shape what comes next, a subscription makes a real difference.

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/44fVkOt

📸 Fabiola Christian