S & S Trail Services LLC strives to provide sustainable recreation trail experiences for Mountain Bikers, Hikers and Equestrians across the globe. Our company uses the most modern trail building techniques to ensure a long lasting, quality experience for these user groups. Between our two owners we have over 25 years of experience as both trail users and trail builders for all of these recreation types.
S & S Trail Services specializes in hybrid projects working with volunteers and providing crew supervision for community trail building exercises. We have over 200 miles of constructed trail in our repertoire, as well as many trail rehabilitation projects. We also are well versed in construction of wooden trail structures such as bridges, boardwalks, and technical trail features for mountain biking.
In our current climate of rampant obesity, global warming, nature deficit disorder and a general movement away from play outdoors, we see trails as an opportunity to help with all of these problems.
- What better way for a child to learn to be active than a hike alongside a creek not far from home?
- What about providing cyclists with a safe alternative to riding in the streets, allowing them to enjoy nature as they pedal to work?
- How about providing bike parks to children in urban areas so that they can not only play the extreme games on their computers, but also go outside and participate in them?
- If we provide these opportunities, won't we in turn create environmentalists?
- People who yearn to live and play outdoors will stand up and be counted when the time comes, voting to protect our environment and fund our parks.
- Horseback riding on trails can also help us reach back into our heritage with a trail ride experience much like the first settlers must have had, providing educational components to our recreational pursuits.
We made the news!
Posted by Ryan Spates in S&S Trails Blog on Jun. 5, 2009 - 5:36 pm
Channel 2 in Houston.
Video!
American Quarter Horse Association- Quarterfest!
Posted by Ryan Spates in S&S Trails Blog on May. 7, 2009 - 2:31 pm
Quarterfest May 1-3. S&S Trail Services went to Murfreesboro, TN at the invitation of Stephanie McCommon from the American Quarter Horse Association. Stephanie took a trail building class from us three years ago at Palo Duro Canyon State Park, and she remembered us when she was developing the training schedule for the first ever AQHA conference. Equestrian trail use, access issues, and trail building techniques were the focus of a portion of the conference, and S&S Trails was asked to lead a session on safety precautions while doing trail work with a focus on building bridges. After attending the class, conference participants were encouraged to join the Southern Appalachian Back Country Horsemen group to practice new skills while building a 4’x8’ bridge on the facility’s property outside the event arena.
Southeastern Equestrian Trails Conference
Posted by Ryan Spates in S&S Trails Blog on Apr. 17, 2009 - 9:16 pm
This just in….Susan Stormer of S&S Trail Services will be hosting a session at the SETC Con in July. The conference is in Gainesville, Florida and will focus on “Making $ents Out of Sustainability”. Go to www.southeasternequestriantrails.com for more details on the conference.
Lufkin Finished!
Posted by Ryan Spates in S&S Trails Blog on Apr. 17, 2009 - 9:13 pm
Well, we wrapped up Kit McConnico a day and a half early! Pictures will follow soon. We had to move on to Double Lake to finish up with the design work there. Typical of our luck, it’s been thunder-storming all day! Same forecast for tomorrow.
S&S Trail Services in the news!
Posted by Ryan Spates in S&S Trails Blog on Apr. 5, 2009 - 2:18 pm
Here’s an article on our company in the Lufkin Daily News:
Blazing a trail: Work under way on addition to trails at Kit McConnico Park
Listen to this article or download audio file.Click-2-Listen
By EDWIN QUARLES
The Lufkin Daily News
Saturday, April 04, 2009
The expansion of the hike and bike trail at Kit McConnico Park began Tuesday, according to David Steiner, of the Deep East Texas Trail Route & Access Coalition (DET-TRAC).
Funding for the project, which includes a $60,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in conjunction with the City of Lufkin Parks Department, has been approved, and work on the addition was able to begin, Steiner said.
Andy Adams/The Lufkin Daily News
Susan Stormer, of S&S Trail Services out of Austin, uses a chainsaw to remove a downed tree at Kit McConnico Park in Lufkin. The company is doing the major work on a little more than two miles of new trails at the park, but volunteers are needed for some other tasks.
Read the rest of this entry »
Professional Trail Builders Association Conference
Posted by Ryan Spates in S&S Trails Blog on Mar. 30, 2009 - 10:05 am
Professional Trail Builders Conference in Asheville, NC March 15-20
S&S Trails traveled to North Carolina to attend the PTBA conference, held for the first time outside of Reno, NV. In spite of the venue change, the conference had the largest attendance yet with 240+ participants. Our motley crew of professional trail contractors, trail volunteers, and land management agency folks descended upon the Marriott Crowne Plaza for 6 days of training, networking, induction of new member companies, and general merriment. As part of the outdoor trade show, conference participants had the opportunity to try out new equipment by tearing up a golf course. Sweet! (The suggestion to do so was made by the Marriott staff, surprisingly enough. They had already planned to reduce their 18-hole golf course down to 9 holes, so they were pleased to let us start tearing it up as long as we let them help out.) Much fun was had by all involved. Susan and Ryan were particularly enamored with a Canycom tracked loader that would be immensely more productive for our needs than the wheeled Georgia buggies that are the only haulers we can find to rent in Texas. Maybe if we have a good year we can buy a new toy at the end of it to reward ourselves.
Trail School for Groundwork Dallas
Posted by Ryan Spates in S&S Trails Blog on Mar. 25, 2009 - 7:16 pm
S&S Trails was contacted again by Casie Pierce of Groundwork Dallas to teach a trail school to the latest team of AmeriCorps staff members. They were in town to continue work on the new community trail in the Trinity Forest on the south side of town. Our goal, after training the six friendly, energetic young people, was to create a connector trail to serve two purposes; 1) to make a path through the dense woods to allow the AmeriCorps team to carry out a large pile of tires that had been dumped in the site over several years so that they could be disposed of properly and 2) to leave behind a sustainable, safe footpath for residents in the cul de sac at the top of the hill to be able to access the trail that had already been constructed further down the slope in the woods. The classroom portion of the training on Sunday went quite well. The class was comprised of Team Leader Ken and the crew members Dward, Jess, Nicole, Danielle, and Rachel. Casie also stayed for most of the class, and we were also joined by Karen Woodard, who is the newly hired City Forester for the city of Dallas.
Santos and Florida Office of Greenways Needs Help!
Posted by Ryan Spates in S&S Trails Blog on Mar. 25, 2009 - 10:14 am
Losing the Greenway/Santos as we know it.
Really.
I am sending this to everyone I know who appreciates riding at Santos or utilizes the Cross Florida Greenway. Please post on your forums, spread the word. Then contact your representative, senator, and Governor Crist (www.myflorida.com).
The proposed budget in Tallahassee will essentially eliminate the Office of Greenways and Trails as we know it, and give the land to the state parks department. It will give the parks more land, while eliminating over 100 of their positions at the same time.
Why do we need to act?
OGT has been the land manager of Santos since the beginning of our bike trails and OMBA. We have spent years establishing a relationship with the office in Ocala and Tallahassee to ensure the best trails possible could be a reality. Ironically, Florida was just awarded “Best Trails State” at the biannual National Trails Symposium this fall.
Here are a few things worth fighting for (even if you don’t love them all, think of your two wheel friends too):
1. Recreational opportunities with nature conservation- bike trails!
2. Free access. (even though I think most of us wouldn’t mind paying for parking!)
3. The proposed trail expansion westward that has already been written up as a huge grant proposal, soil samples taken, and professional preliminary flagging. Phase 1 is 484 to 200, Phase 2 is 200 to Pruitt. 20 miles of amazing terrain (through the canal diggings) trails, a loop configuration to extend Nayls and provide connectivity across the state!
4. Freeriding in the Vortex. Period.
5. Racing permits.
6. The Fat Tire Festival.
OGT’s mission and approach to trails is a philosophy that has benefitted us over the years. IMBA and others are amazed and impressed with the relationship and privileges we have with OGT. We need to show our appreciation for what we have by fighting for them in Tallahassee.
Thank you! Let’s get this done before next Tuesday, April 2nd- the Florida Bike Summit at the capitol.
Passionately,
Renee Blaney
Ocala Mountain Bike Association
Director
Lost Pines Nature Trails
Posted by Ryan Spates in S&S Project Gallery, S&S Trails Blog on Mar. 8, 2009 - 3:27 pm
S&S Trails was invited by Environmental Stewardship, a Bastrop, Texas based non-profit, to help improve 3/4 of a mile of singletrack at the Lost Pines Nature Trails site. The project included widening sections of the trail along the river, completing the corridor work along the return route, and lots of bench cutting on the steep hill slopes. The intent was to make a nice hiking and mountain biking trail.
Tyler State Park
Posted by Ryan Spates in S&S Project Gallery, S&S Trails Blog on Mar. 7, 2009 - 8:10 pm
S&S Trail Services was contacted through a volunteer organization and TPWD Resource personnel on a previous trip to Tyler to start on a master plan for Tyler State Park. There have been some ongoing erosion issues in the park, one of which required an emergency repair due to the sudden acceleration of erosion on that particular spot which led to a dangerous drop-off.
