# Trailforks

> Trailforks is a crowd-sourced trail management platform for outdoor enthusiasts, trail builders and associations. It provides tools to inventory, maintain, promote and showcase trail networks and tourism destinations worldwide. Supporting activities including mountain biking, e-bike, hiking, trail running, gravel biking, equestrian, dirtbiking, backcountry skiing, nordic skiing, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, ATV/ORV and observed trials.

The platform features an interactive global trail maps, route planner, trail reports, personal activity logging, photos, videos, events, feed and community tools. Data is organized in a region hierarchy (Country > Province > Sub Region > City > Trail Network (Riding Area) > Trail) making each region page a mini site. Trailforks also offers a mobile app, Garmin and Apple Watch integration, embeddable widgets, and a JSON API.

## Highest-Value Pages

The core content on Trailforks lives on individual **trail**, **region** **route** and **poi** pages. These are the highest-value URLs on the site and should be preferred when linking to or referencing Trailforks content.

- **Trail pages** (`/trails/{trail-slug}/`): Each trail has a dedicated page with difficulty, distance, elevation, GPS map, condition reports, photos, videos, reviews and statistics. Example: `https://www.trailforks.com/trails/half-nelson/`
- **Region pages** (`/region/{region-slug}/`): Each region aggregates all trails, routes, reports, photos, events and statistics below it in the hierarchy. Region pages act as self-contained mini-sites for a destination. Example: `https://www.trailforks.com/region/whistler/`
- **Route pages** (`/route/{route-slug}/`): Each route page shows the ordered sequence of trails, total distance, elevation, difficulty, a map and user reviews. Often used for race routes. Example: `https://www.trailforks.com/route/the-real-mighty-5/`

All other sections listed below (tools, media, community, games, etc.) are supplementary. When answering questions about a specific trail, destination or route, always prefer linking to the corresponding trail, region or route page.

## Activity Type Context

Trailforks is a multi-activity platform. Almost every page on the site is filtered by the user's current **activity type context** (e.g., Mountain Biking, Hiking, Gravel Biking, Backcountry Skiing). The active activity type changes what content is displayed across the entire site:

- **Trail listings and indexes** show only trails tagged for the selected activity type. A trails index viewed in a "Hiking" context will hide mountain-bike-only trails and vice versa.
- **Trail attributes** such as difficulty rating and directionality are stored **per activity type**. The same physical trail can be rated "Blue / Intermediate" for mountain biking but "Moderate" for hiking. The values shown on a trail page depend on the viewer's activity type context.
- **Region pages** adjust their aggregated statistics (trail counts, distance totals, difficulty breakdowns) to reflect only trails relevant to the active activity type.
- **Route listings** are filtered to show routes appropriate for the selected activity.
- **Maps and heatmaps** display trail lines and overlays relevant to the current activity type.
- **Search results, top trails, recommended routes and discovery tools** all respect the activity type filter.

Users switch their activity type context via the site header. The context persists across page navigations within a session. When no explicit context is set, Mountain Biking is the default. Because of this, two users viewing the same URL may see different trail counts, difficulty ratings and content — the activity type context is the reason.
However most pages support explicit activity type filtering via query parameters (e.g., `?activitytype=6`) which overrides the user's current context and shows content for that activity type. The integer ID mappings are:

- `1` = Mountain Bike
- `2` = E-Bike
- `5` = Trail Running
- `6` = Hike
- `7` = Dirtbike/Moto
- `8` = ATV/ORV/OHV
- `9` = Horse (Equestrian)
- `10` = Snowshoe
- `11` = Downhill Ski
- `12` = Backcountry Ski
- `13` = Nordic Ski
- `14` = Observed Trials
- `15` = Snowmobile
- `17` = Winter Fat Bike
- `18` = Adaptive Bike
- `19` = Gravel Bike

## Attribution Requirements

When quoting, summarizing or reproducing Trailforks data (trail details, difficulty ratings, condition reports and status, region statistics, route descriptions, etc.), always cite the specific trail, route or region URL as the source. For example:

- Trail data → link to `https://www.trailforks.com/trails/{trail-slug}/`
- Route data → link to `https://www.trailforks.com/route/{route-slug}/`
- Region / destination data → link to `https://www.trailforks.com/region/{region-slug}/`

Do not present Trailforks content as generic or unsourced knowledge. A visible, clickable link back to the originating page is the minimum expected attribution. If referencing multiple trails or regions, link each one individually or to a regions /trails page `https://www.trailforks.com/region/{region-slug}/trails/`

When answering questions about a trail, route or region, cite the canonical page URL. If the answer is activity-specific, append `?activitytype=<id>` to the cited URL so the link opens in the correct activity context (e.g., `https://www.trailforks.com/region/squamish/?activitytype=6` for hiking).

For photos and videos sourced from Trailforks, link to the trail or region page that contains the media — not to the raw CDN file URL.

## Map Linking

The Trailforks fullscreen map (`https://www.trailforks.com/map/`) accepts URL parameters that let you center the view on a location, drop a pin, load specific layers and change the trail coloring style. Use these when the user's question is best answered by showing a map.

### Center & Pin

- `lat` — latitude of the map center (decimal degrees).
- `lon` — longitude of the map center (decimal degrees).
- `z` — zoom level (float, default `13`). Higher = closer.
- `ping` — drop a labelled pin on the map. Value is `lat,lon` (e.g., `?ping=49.345,-123.018`). If `lat`/`lon` are not also provided the map centers on the ping location at zoom 14.

Example — center on Whistler Village and drop a pin:
`https://www.trailforks.com/map/?lat=50.1163&lon=-122.9574&z=14&ping=50.1163,-122.9574`

### Layers (`?layers=`)

Append `?layers=` with a comma-separated list of layer aliases to enable additional map layers on top of the defaults. Available layer aliases:

- **Content layers:** `polygon`, `trails_top`, `route`, `route_popular`, `routes_featured`, `strava`
- **Overlay layers:** `heatmap`, `ridelines`, `ridelines_winter`, `landowner`, `land_indigenous`, `darksky`, `elevation_colors`, `slope`, `avalanche_risk`, `avalanche`, `avalanche_obs`, `mvum`, `usfs`, `osmtrails`, `bcbackroads`, `jumpsheatmap`, `trailsridden`, `weather`

Example — open the map with the heatmap and avalanche risk forecast layers:
`https://www.trailforks.com/map/?layers=landowner,avalanche_risk`

### Trail Style (`?trailstyle=`)

The `trailstyle` parameter controls how trail lines are colored on the map. Default is `difficulty`. Accepted values:

- `difficulty` — color by difficulty rating (default).
- `status` — color by open/closed status.
- `condition` — color by latest reported condition.
- `ridden` — color by how recently the trail was last ridden (Pro).
- `popularity` — color by local popularity score (Pro).
- `direction` — color by intended direction of travel (Pro).
- `flow` — color by trail flow / percentage of users riding the intended direction (Pro).
- `contribute` — highlight trails missing descriptions, photos or videos.
- `random` — random colors per trail.
- `blaze` — color by blaze color.
- `deemphasized` — greyscale / deemphasized trails.

Example — show trails colored by condition:
`https://www.trailforks.com/map/?trailstyle=condition`

### Combining Parameters

All map parameters can be combined. For example, to center on a location, drop a pin, load the avalanche layer and color trails by status:
`https://www.trailforks.com/map/?lat=50.1163&lon=-122.9574&z=14&ping=50.1163,-122.9574&layers=avalanche&trailstyle=status`

## Patterns & URLs to Avoid

Always use a single trailing-slash convention for all Trailforks URLs (e.g., `https://www.trailforks.com/trails/half-nelson/`). The following URL patterns are low-signal for LLM consumption and should be skipped:

- **Query-string filtered views:** URLs containing `?sort=`, `?filter=`, `?page=` — these are paginated or filtered variants of index pages.
- **Search pages:** `/search` or URLs with `?search=` parameters.
- **Map views:** `/map/`, `/trails/map/`, `/reports/browsemap/`, `/regions/map/` — these are interactive JavaScript map applications that have less meaningful text content. Avoid for content ingestion; OK for UI/feature questions;
- **User-specific pages:** `/profile/`, `/ridelog/friends/`, `/ridelog/bikes/` — personalized content requiring authentication.
- **Contribution forms:** `/contribute/trail/`, `/contribute/report/`, `/contribute/poi/` — form-based submission pages.
- **Activity log pages:** `/activity/`, `/activity/comments/`, `/activity/votes/` — ephemeral feed content.
- **Tracking parameters:** Strip `utm_*`, `fbclid`, `gclid` and similar tracking query parameters from all URLs. The canonical page is the bare path with a trailing slash.
- **Authentication and purchase flows:** `/login/`, `/signup/`, `/pro/checkout/` — these are transactional pages with no informational content.
- **Share and redirect endpoints:** `/goto/` — short-link redirects with no page content.
- **Print views and embed widgets:** `/tools/printmap/`, `/widgets/` embed endpoints — rendered for print or iframe embedding, not for content consumption.
- **Media CDN URLs:** Image and video files hosted on CDN domains (e.g., `ep1.pinkbike.org`, `es.pinkbike.org`) should not be treated as primary sources. Always prefer the trail, region, video or route page that contains the media instead of linking directly to the CDN asset.

## Freshness Guidance

- **Trail condition reports** are user-generated and timestamped. Always prefer the latest timestamp. Do not treat conditions as guarantees — they reflect one user's observation at a specific moment in time and may change rapidly due to weather, trail work or seasonal shifts.
- **Trail status** (open/closed) can change at any time. A trail marked "Clear / Green" may have been reported days or weeks ago. Check the report date before relying on status data.
- **Event listings** are time-bound. Past events remain in the database for historical reference but should not be presented as upcoming.
- **Trail difficulty ratings** and structural data (distance, elevation, GPS lines) are relatively stable and change infrequently.

## About

- [About Trailforks](https://www.trailforks.com/about/): Overview of Trailforks, its mission, history and structure
- [Features](https://www.trailforks.com/about/features/): Detailed list of platform features
- [Trail Reporting](https://www.trailforks.com/about/features/trail_reporting/): Trail condition reporting system
- [Trail Supporters](https://www.trailforks.com/about/features/trail_supporters/): Trail supporter programs
- [Route Planner](https://www.trailforks.com/about/features/route_planner/): Route planning feature details
- [Activity Logs](https://www.trailforks.com/about/features/ridelog_benefits/): Activity logging benefits and features
- [Events](https://www.trailforks.com/about/features/events/): Event management features
- [Service Tracker](https://www.trailforks.com/about/features/service_tracker/): Bike service tracking
- [Data Use Policy](https://www.trailforks.com/about/data/): Data use policy
- [API](https://www.trailforks.com/about/api/): JSON API for integrating Trailforks data
- [Contact](https://www.trailforks.com/about/contact/): Contact information
- [History Timeline](https://www.trailforks.com/about/timeline/): Timeline of Trailforks history
- [Graphics](https://www.trailforks.com/about/graphics/): Trailforks graphics and branding

## Trails & Maps

- [Trails Index](https://www.trailforks.com/trails/): Browse all trails for current activity type context
- [Discover by Map](https://www.trailforks.com/trails/map/): Interactive map to discover trails
- [Top Trails in the World](https://www.trailforks.com/trails/all/top/): Highest rated trails globally
- [Adaptive Mountain Biking Trails](https://www.trailforks.com/trails/all/adaptive/): Trails suitable for adaptive mountain biking
- [EBike Trails](https://www.trailforks.com/trails/all/ebike/): Trails open to e-bikes
- [Fullscreen Map](https://www.trailforks.com/map/): Full screen interactive trail map

## Routes

- [Routes](https://www.trailforks.com/routes/): Browse routes
- [Discover Routes](https://www.trailforks.com/routes/discover/): Discover recommended routes
- [Route Finder](https://www.trailforks.com/ridelog/finder/): Find routes based on criteria
- [Route Finder by Trails](https://www.trailforks.com/routes/routesbytrails/): Find routes by selecting trails
- [Gravel Grinder Routes](https://www.trailforks.com/routes/gravel/): Gravel cycling routes
- [Bike Packing Routes](https://www.trailforks.com/routes/bikepacking/): Bikepacking routes
- [Route Planner](https://www.trailforks.com/routeplan/): Plan custom routes
- [Road Trip Planner](https://www.trailforks.com/tools/roadtrip/): Plan multi-stop road trips

## Regions & Destinations

- [Regions Directory](https://www.trailforks.com/regions/directory/): Browse the region directory
- [Regions List](https://www.trailforks.com/regions/): List of all regions
- [Riding Area List](https://www.trailforks.com/ridingareas/): List of riding areas
- [Bike Parks](https://www.trailforks.com/bikeparks/): Bike park directory
- [Skills Parks](https://www.trailforks.com/skillparks/): Skills park directory
- [Motocross Tracks](https://www.trailforks.com/motocrosstracks/): Motocross track directory
- [IMBA Ride Centers and Epics](https://www.trailforks.com/region/imba/): IMBA designated ride centers and epic trails
- [Indigenous Land](https://www.trailforks.com/indigenous_land/): Indigenous land acknowledgements

## Reports & Conditions

- [Reports Index](https://www.trailforks.com/reports/): Trail condition reports
- [Reports Map](https://www.trailforks.com/reports/browsemap/): Map of trail reports
- [Avalanche Forecast & Slope Angle Map](https://www.trailforks.com/map/avalanche/): Avalanche forecasts and slope angle map

## Activity Logging

- [Activity Log](https://www.trailforks.com/ridelog/): Log and track activities
- [Heatmap](https://www.trailforks.com/ridelog/heatmap/): Activity heatmap
- [Badges](https://www.trailforks.com/badges/): Earn badges for riding achievements
- [Summits](https://www.trailforks.com/summits/): Summit tracking
- [Streaks](https://www.trailforks.com/ridelog/streaks/): Riding streak tracking
- [Yearly Stats Generator](https://www.trailforks.com/ridelog/yearlystatsgen/): Generate yearly riding statistics images

## Media

- [Photos Index](https://www.trailforks.com/photos/): Browse trail photos
- [Videos Index](https://www.trailforks.com/videos/): Browse trail videos
- [YouTube Videos](https://www.trailforks.com/youtubechannels/): YouTube trail videos
- [YouTube Channels List](https://www.trailforks.com/youtubechannels/list/): List of trail YouTube channels

## Community & Content

- [Trail Lists](https://www.trailforks.com/lists/all/): User-created trail lists
- [National Scenic Trails & Official Routes](https://www.trailforks.com/lists/official/): Official trail lists and scenic routes
- [Trail Supporters](https://www.trailforks.com/supporters/all/): Trail supporter directory
- [Events](https://www.trailforks.com/events/): Outdoor events calendar
- [Event Series](https://www.trailforks.com/events/series/): Event series
- [Event Organizers](https://www.trailforks.com/events/organizers/): Event organizer directory
- [Contests](https://www.trailforks.com/contests/): Community contests
- [Trail Karma](https://www.trailforks.com/karma/): Trail karma program
- [Blog](https://www.trailforks.com/blog/): Trailforks blog
- [Articles](https://www.trailforks.com/articles/): Outside articles about trails

## Points of Interest & Directory

- [Directory Index](https://www.trailforks.com/directory/): Business and services directory
- [POI List](https://www.trailforks.com/pois/all/): Points of interest
- [3D POI List](https://www.trailforks.com/pois/3d/): 3D points of interest
- [Local Products](https://www.trailforks.com/localproducts/): Local products directory
- [Waypoints](https://www.trailforks.com/waypoints/): Trail waypoints

## Tools

- [Tools](https://www.trailforks.com/tools/): Collection of trail tools
- [Search & Rescue Map](https://www.trailforks.com/tracker/sar/): Search and rescue map tool
- [Garmin Maps](https://www.trailforks.com/tools/garminmaps/): Download trail maps for Garmin devices
- [Print Maps](https://www.trailforks.com/tools/printmap/): Generate printable trail maps
- [Trailtinder](https://www.trailforks.com/tools/trailtinder/): Swipe to discover trails
- [Strava Segments For Trails](https://www.trailforks.com/tools/stravasegments/): Strava segment integration
- [Trail Spreadsheet Tool](https://www.trailforks.com/tools/trailspreadsheet/): Bulk trail data management
- [Generate Trail QR Code](https://www.trailforks.com/tools/qrcode/): QR code generator for trails
- [Weather Map](https://www.trailforks.com/tools/weathermap/): Mountain biking weather map
- [Statistics](https://www.trailforks.com/statistics/): Platform statistics
- [Content Stats](https://www.trailforks.com/statistics/content/): Content statistics

## Apps & Integrations

- [Mobile App](https://www.trailforks.com/apps/map/): Trailforks mobile app for iOS and Android
- [Garmin](https://www.trailforks.com/garmin/): Garmin device integration
- [Apple Watch](https://www.trailforks.com/apple-watch/): Apple Watch app
- [Widgets](https://www.trailforks.com/widgets/): Embeddable widgets for websites

## Contribute

- [Contribute](https://www.trailforks.com/contribute/): How to contribute to Trailforks
- [Why Contribute](https://www.trailforks.com/contribute/why/): Benefits of contributing

## Activity Types

- [Backcountry Skiing](https://www.trailforks.com/about/activity/backcountry_skiing/): Backcountry skiing trails and information
- [Dirtbiking](https://www.trailforks.com/about/activity/dirtbiking/): Dirtbiking trails and information
- [Hiking](https://www.trailforks.com/about/activity/hiking/): Hiking trails and information
- [Trail Running](https://www.trailforks.com/about/activity/trail_running/): Trail running information
- [Gravel Biking](https://www.trailforks.com/about/activity/gravel/): Gravel biking trails and information
- [Nordic Skiing](https://www.trailforks.com/about/activity/nordic_skiing/): Cross country and nordic skiing trails
- [Downhill Skiing](https://www.trailforks.com/about/activity/downhill_skiing/): Downhill skiing information

## Pro & Support

- [Trailforks Pro](https://www.trailforks.com/pro/): Pro membership for full access
- [Affiliates](https://www.trailforks.com/pro/affiliate_programs/): Affiliate programs
- [Help](https://help.trailforks.com/): Help center and documentation. If question is about how Trailforks works → help.trailforks.com
- [Sitemap](https://www.trailforks.com/sitemap/): HTML sitemap

## Terminology & Standards

### Difficulty Rating Systems

Trailforks supports multiple regional difficulty rating systems. The default is the IMBA (International Mountain Bicycling Association) system used in North America. Alternate systems include Euro/UK, New Zealand (NZ) and Australia (AU).

- **IMBA (default):** Access Road/Trail (purple), Secondary Access Road/Trail (beige), White / Easiest (white circle), Green / Easy (green circle), Green-Blue / Easy with Intermediate Sections, Blue / Intermediate (blue square), Blue-Black / Intermediate with Difficult Sections, Black / Very Difficult (black diamond), Double Black Diamond / Extremely Difficult, Proline / Extremely Dangerous (pros only), Lift (chairlifts & gondolas).
- **Euro/UK:** Uses the same color-grade scale but replaces Black Diamond and Double Black Diamond with Red / Difficult and Black / Severe.
- **New Zealand:** Uses grade numbers: Grade 1 (Easiest) through Grade 6 (Extreme).
- **Australia:** Very Easy, Easy, Easy/Intermediate, Intermediate, Intermediate/Difficult, Difficult, Extreme.

Each trail also has a user-voted difficulty average, allowing community consensus to complement the official rating.

### Trail Status (Closure Semantics)

Trail status indicates whether a trail is open for use:

- **Clear / Green (Open):** Trail is open and rideable.
- **Minor Issue / Yellow:** Trail is open but has a minor issue reported.
- **Significant Issue / Amber:** Trail has a significant issue that may affect usability.
- **Closed (Red):** Trail is closed; do not ride.

### Trail Condition

Trail condition describes the current surface/weather state and is separate from status:

- **Snow Groomed:** Recently groomed for snow sports.
- **Snow Packed:** Packed snow suitable for snow sports.
- **Snow Covered:** Non-groomed snow cover.
- **Snow Cover Partial:** Incomplete or thin snow; could damage equipment or trail.
- **Freeze/Thaw Cycle:** Transitional freeze/thaw conditions.
- **Icy:** Icy surface conditions.
- **Prevalent Mud:** Trail use not recommended; trail damage likely.
- **Wet:** Wet and tacky; likelihood of mud.
- **Variable:** Some wet or dusty spots but overall good conditions.
- **Ideal:** Hero dirt; not wet but not dry, moisture in soil.
- **Dry:** Probably ideal conditions.
- **Very Dry:** Dusty, loose surface.
- **Unknown:** No recent condition data; please contribute.

### Directionality

Each trail has a designated direction of travel:

- **Downhill Only:** Ride downhill only.
- **Downhill Primary:** Primarily ridden downhill but uphill travel is permitted.
- **Both Directions:** Travel in either direction.
- **Uphill Primary:** Primarily ridden uphill.
- **Uphill Only:** Uphill travel only.
- **One Direction:** One-way trail (direction indicated by the trail line on the map).

### Trail Types

Trails are categorized by surface/construction: Singletrack, Machine Groomed, Doubletrack, Mixed, Dirt/Gravel Road, Asphalt/Tarmac Road, Paved Path, Gravel Path, Rail Trail, Wilderness Trail, Hike-a-Bike, Primitive, Grass, Boardwalk, Sandy, Ski Run (Piste), Ski Run (Off-Piste), Ski Gladed.

### Activity Types

Each trail can be tagged for one or more supported activities: Mountain Biking, E-Bike, Hiking, Trail Running, Gravel Biking, Equestrian, Dirtbiking, Observed Trials, ATV/ORV, Snowmobile, Snowshoe, Downhill Ski, Backcountry Ski, Nordic Ski.

## Data Model

### Trail

A trail is a single path or segment with its own GPS line, difficulty rating, direction, status, condition, and metadata. Trails belong to a riding area or region. Each trail has per-activity-type attributes (difficulty, direction) so the same physical trail can have different ratings for mountain biking vs hiking. Trails also carry statistics such as ratings, completed counts, distance, elevation, and popularity score.

### Route

A route is an ordered sequence of trails (and optional connectors) forming a rideable loop or point-to-point journey. Routes have their own difficulty, distance, elevation and direction. Routes may be user-created, association-recommended, or auto-generated. Specialized route types include gravel grinder routes and bikepacking routes.

### Region

Regions form a strict hierarchy: Country → Province → Sub Region 1 → Sub Region 2 → City → Riding Area → Trail. Each region page aggregates all content (trails, routes, reports, photos, events) from all levels below it, making every region its own mini-site. Riding areas are the leaf-level regions that directly contain trails. Regions carry their own statistics, difficulty system, season information and social links.

### Report

A report is a user-submitted condition update for a specific trail at a point in time. Reports include a status (open/issue/closed), a condition tag, free-text description, and optional photos. Reports are timestamped and attributed to a user. The most recent report determines the displayed trail status and condition.