VDOT developed this guide to aid the process of grassroots trail planning, based on the knowledge of experienced planners, research of best practices around the nation as well as the State, and the understanding gained from trail development process in the Town of Middleburg.
by Virginia Department of Transportation
The term “trails” is often used to describe a variety of paved and unpaved pedestrian and bike facilities, ranging from informal recreational networks serving mountain bikers and hikers to formal AASHTO specified facilities providing vital transportation connections within a community.
This guidebook focuses on shared-use paths, an important ingredient in the transportation system’s multi-modal network. Shared-use paths (referred to as “trails” throughout this document) provide pedestrians and bicyclists, access to activity centers such as schools, libraries, town centers, parks, businesses, employment centers and recreational facilities. A well planned trail may offer opportunities for several markets: a safe route to school for children, bicycle commuters, neighborhood recreational activities, and competitive runners.
A shared-use path is one of the five facilities to accommodate bicycling; others include on-street bicycle lanes, designated roadway shoulders, a wide outside travel lane designed and signed for bicycle use, and a signed shared use residential street. There are many types of trail surfaces, each tailored to the users and providing a unique experience
Attached document published February 2012
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is responsible for building, maintaining and operating the state's roads, bridges and tunnels.
And, through the Commonwealth Transportation Board, it provides funding for airports, seaports, rail and public transportation.
Virginia has the third-largest state-maintained highway system in the country, behind Texas and North Carolina.
Recorded webinars that you might like
A Guide to Adaptive Mountain Bike Trailbuilding
Oct 30, 2025
This webinar will walk through the latest guidance for planning, designing, building, and retrofitting adaptive mountain bike trails, with a specific focus on nonmotorized, natural-surface trails. The speakers represent the critical stakeholders that should be involved in any aMTB trail project— trail manager, aMTB users, aMTB programs, and trail builder.
Trail Design in an Animate World
Oct 16, 2025
This webinar invites trail designers, planners, and stewards into a radical reimagining of their role—not as prescribers of sustainability, but as participants in a living, animate world. Drawing inspiration from deep ecological traditions, Indigenous teachings, and the spiritual dimensions of place-based work, it offers a reframing of trail design as a reciprocal act rooted in humility, listening, and respect.
Equine Land Advocacy – A Best Practice for Equine Access
posted Nov 1, 2025
Advocating for what your equine community needs, and how to do it.
The Horse Owners Guide to Water Quality Protection
posted Nov 1, 2025
The Horse Owners Guide to Water Quality Protection is an excellent resource document from the Council of Bay Area Resource Conservation Districts
Horses & Invasive Plants: The Western USA Study
posted Nov 1, 2025
Dr. Gower’s studies indicate that horses and pack stock are unlikely, if at all, to spread invasive weeds along trails under the conditions he studied in both the eastern and western United States
Horses and Pack Stock Are Not Likely Sources of Harmful Pathogens in Waterways
posted Nov 1, 2025
Dr. Atwill’s work is the strongest evidence yet that stock use in the Sierra high country is unlikely to result in introduction into waterways of pathogens that cause human illness (giardia, E-coli, etc.).
