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Trailhead signs and message boards

Signs with trail information at access points and trailheads. Some trailheads have elaborate facilities but the one essential is a sign, post, or marker identifying the trail route. In urban areas where there is continuous or frequent access, there may be trail identity signs just at parking areas. Information conveyed at trailheads often includes a map, rules, trail mileage, special conditions, events, and "friends of the trail" groups. In the backcountry the more developed trailheads will have a bulletin board with safety messages, wildlife alerts, and a trail register. Also see the photo gallery of maps at trailheads.

Click on any photo to see it full size:

(Commentary and photos by Stuart Macdonald, September 2009)

Typical USDA Forest Service trailhead sign with Mt. Shasta in background; photo by Stuart Macdonald, July 15, 2007

Typical USFS trail sign at Kenosha Pass campground west of Denver, CO; photo by Stuart Macdonald, October 1, 2008

Shirley-Marshall Pass snowmobile trail map, U.S. Forest Service, Colorado

Woodpecker Loop National Recreation Trail on Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon; photo by Stuart Macdonald, August 2008

Terrraces-Elbow Fork Trail in Mill Creek Canyon, managed by Salt Lake County and Forest Service; photo by Stuart Macdonald, June 2003

Row River National Recreation Trail on Bureau of Land Management land, Cottage Grove, Oregon; photo by Stuart Macdonald, August 2008

Van Bibber Trail, Jefferson County Open Space, CO; photo by Stuart Macdonald, Auguwt 1, 2009.

Globeville Landing Trailhead sign and gazebo on South Platte River Greenway, Denver, CO; photo by Stuart Macdonald, Nov. 24, 2006.

Trailhead sign and parking lot, Clear Creek Trail, Denver, CO; photo by Stuart Macdonald, Aug. 1, 2009.

Trailhead sign and parking lot, Clear Creek Trail, Wheat Ridge, CO; photo by Stuart Macdonald, Aug. 1, 2009.

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail, Washington, DC; photo by Stuart Macdonald, June 16, 2007.

Crescent Rail Trail, Washington, DC; photo by Stuart Macdonald, June 16, 2007.

Willamette River Greenway, Eugene, OR; photo by Stuart Macdonald, August 30, 2008

Trailhead sign and parking lot, Clear Creek Trail, Jefferson County, Colorado; photo by Stuart Macdonald, Aug. 1, 2009.

Trailhead sign board, Wissahickon Valley Park, Philadelphia, PA; photo by Stuart Macdonald, Oct. 6, 2008

Trailhead sign showing milage and user regulations, Forest Park, Portland, OR; photo by Stuart Macdonald, January 12, 2007

Heron Pond natural Area along South Platte River Greenway, Denver, CO; photo by Stuart Macdonald, Nov. 24, 2006.

Trailhead sign shows trail data and dimensions to help wheelchair users assess the accessibility; Happy Creek Nature Trail, North Cascades NRA, Washington

Baker Lake Trail, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, WA; photo by Stuart Macdonald, October 2006

Trailhead sign at Marshall Pass on The Colorado Trail