Greenstone Trailcraft

10/12/2020

Last week, Andrew took a day to drive out to Garrett County and get re-inspired to finish the build season strong in Maryland State Parks. This work on Cherry Creek Trail at Deep Creek Lake State Park was completed in 2018 when Andrew was a partner in Elevated Trail Design, working as a subcontractor to IMBA Trail Solutions. There's nothing like riding a trail you built, but it was also awesome to see some seriously impressive work from the IMBA crew and Appalachian Dirt. We are lucky to have this trail network in MD.

10/02/2020

Work continues as fall begins in Maryland State Parks. Greenbrier is just about wrapped and we’re breaking ground at Patuxent River!

09/25/2020

Nearing completion of some critical connections at Greenbrier State Park in western Maryland.

09/22/2020

Trail Specialist Bill Kemp takes a break from the hard work to sample the goods on the Catoctin Trail in the Frederick, MD watershed with some primo early-fall conditions.

08/28/2020

Get hyped for the new Dogwood trail, where you can say goodbye✌️to riding on Hollifield road on your next ride at Patapsco Valley State Park.

08/12/2020

Who’s been out to Brunswick, MD to check out the massively-upgraded Rivers Edge Trails?

08/07/2020

We’re excited to be back in mountain Maryland making some critical connectivity improvements at Greenbrier State Park.

06/29/2020

Carvin’ it up in Brunswick, MD at the Rivers Edge Trails. We’re filling out the remaining few acres with a new directional descent, skills features, and a few multi-directional connectors.

06/24/2020

Saturday scenes on Old Ellicott City Connector. We can't wait to get back out to PVSP to finish up the Dogwood Trail. Thanks to Friends of Patapsco Valley State Park for all the work behind the scenes to get these trails on the ground.

06/11/2020

We’re making progress on the Dogwood Trail in Patapsco Valley State Park. Big thanks to the Friends of Patapsco Valley State Park and the PVSP trail crew for their help on this collaborative build. We’re taking a “less is more” approach where possible to honor the classic Patapsco flavor with rocks, roots, and punchy climbs delivered in a fun and sustainable package.

05/29/2020

Our portion of the OEC connector at Patapsco Valley State Park is open, and it’s a beauty!

OEC Connector Open! We had the final walk-through this week and we have officially opened the machine-built section of the OEC Connector!

Notes:

1. This is the machine built section only, it extends from north of the RT. 40 Bridge to the Campground Loop. We'll be completing the section to Sylvan Lane when we are able to resume volunteer operations at the park.

2. This trail eliminates the active railroad crossing at the Union Dam Tunnel!

3. The location of this trail is in the Hollofeild Area of the park, this area is heavily visited and this trail is a multi-use trail. Please practice the great trail etiquette that PVSP is known for!

For more details on this trail check out:

https://fpvsp.org/oec-connector/

And please, we are working hard to keep our programming moving during this challenging time - show us your support at:

https://rally.org/dogwoodtrail

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Pictured at the social distancing trail opening (LtoR): Andrew Mueller, Greenstone Trailcraft /Eric Crawford, President, FPVSP/ Bill Kemp, Greenstone Trailcraft/ Joe Vogelpohl, Asst. Manager PVSP/ Nita Settina, Superintendent Maryland Park Service.

05/22/2020

One of many unique points of interest along our portion of the Old Ellicott City Connector at Patapsco Valley State Park.

05/15/2020

The Dogwood Trail

Greenstone is slated to bring the trail community at Patapsco Valley State Park another critical linkup next month, this time providing a singletrack alternative to a high-traffic paved road. Help the Friends of PVSP push their funding over the finish line, and we’ll be sure to make it a trail to remember!

The Dogwood Trail Superior Trail – Improved Connections Please note: we are now building only the machine built trails at PVSP. All volunteer work is on pause due to the COVID19 Pandemic, we …

05/08/2020

OEC Connector

Find out some background information on our latest project in Patapsco Valley State Park.

  The Old Ellicott City Connector! A Better Way To OEC. Please note: we are now building only the machine built section of the OEC Connector. All volunteer work at PVSP is on pause due to the …

05/06/2020

Between rain days and machine issues slowing us down, we’ve still managed to build some nice trail with the Friends of Patapsco Valley State Park

04/30/2020

We’re excited to be working on a great project to help improve trail connectivity In Patapsco Valley State Park. Here’s an option for all the P-tap log lovers out there.

04/23/2020

Proud to be an essential business maintaining and enhancing our Maryland State Parks. I think the graffiti is gonna need some work to match the quality of the trail at this popular park!

04/20/2020

Greenstone lifestyle athlete Shaida checking out the lines on the Catoctin trail...the smile says it all.

04/04/2020

Our project on the Catoctin trail in the Frederick, MD Watershed is open! Go put your tires or boots on some funky rocks, and please, stay the hell away from eachother while you do it.

04/03/2020

Greenstone Trailcraft's cover photo

03/31/2020

The Patuxent River Trail Project

More Maryland work coming down the line...we're excited to be under contract for new trail at Patuxent River State Park slated to be built this fall.

Hi everyone, we just wanted to say we are thinking of all of you in these uncertain times. Thank you for all the volunteer work and support.

We are happy to report that Mid Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts - MORE has signed a contract with Greenstone Trailcraft for the first 3 mile professional trail build at Patuxent! Greenstone will be building 2.3 miles of trail, with an additional 0.6-0.7 miles of hand-built trail sections sprinkled throughout.

Of course, everything is on hold during the pandemic. But please rest assured we will be ready to restart trail construction once we get the all clear from the Governor and the Maryland Park Service.

Please continue to follow the shelter in place order while safely enjoying park trails with social distancing rules. Stay safe and healthy everyone.

https://greenstonetrailcraft.com

03/25/2020

Socially distant in the Frederick, MD watershed. Immense user numbers are flocking to outdoor spaces all over the country. Let’s hope a silver lining of this mess is that trails and outdoor facilities will be managed and prioritized like the essential infrastructure they are! Please choose your trail destinations wisely, if you can’t adhere to the CDC’s guidelines, stay home. We need safe and open state and municipal parks in order to keep working!

03/17/2020

Looking good at the COVID-19 dirt lab 👨‍🔬👷‍♂️

03/09/2020

It’s been great to take a few weeks away from the bike to explore the trails of Patagonia on foot. It’s important to see the trails through a different lens sometimes; seeing what’s working and what’s not. This massive suspension bridge in Torres Del Paine, Chile had to be 150 ft long and at least that high over a rocky glacier meltwater stream. The biggest problem areas I saw were extensive braiding/short cutting and rapid erosion. No surprise, the contouring bench cut sections had neither👍. See y’all back stateside soon, with some awesome projects coming up.

02/20/2020

The greenstone crew had a highly productive winter thanks to mild temps in the mid-Atlantic. Now it’s time to take a break for the first time since starting this venture...headed way down south to Patagonia seeking adventure and inspiration! Thanks to Bike Doctor Frederick for the sick trail test rig and Greenstone right-hand-man Bill K for making the work look good! Catch y’all in the spring!✌️

02/05/2020

Things are shaping up in the holler as we reimagine a portion of the Catoctin trail. Some old, some new, all 🔥.

01/27/2020

We are doing a maintenance/relocation on the Catoctin trail between gambrill state park and lawnmower trail in the Frederick Watershed. We ask that starting this week, users please avoid the area and stay off our fresh work. Three saws trail provides an alternate route for thru traffic. We promise it will be worth the wait!

01/12/2020

Kicking off 2020 in the Frederick, MD watershed.

01/07/2020

The switch flipped fast today ❄️

12/24/2019

Greenstone TrailCraft wishes you happy holidays from sunny SC! We’ve got some amazing projects in the queue for 2020. We’ll rest easy knowing you’re all respecting our 2019 work during iffy winter conditions 🙄!

12/12/2019

We have some awesome upcoming projects to announce soon, but we're still buzzing on the amazing summer and fall spent in the Frederick, MD watershed. Weather and conditions have definitely deteriorated since this picture was taken on Three Saws trail, so make sure you take a good look at trail conditions and don't hesitate to abort or change plans if you are impacting tread because of a freeze/thaw cycle, rain or snowmelt.

12/06/2019

Flakes fallin’ and bullets flyin’...December in the Shed. Looking forward to laps on Boundary Line once rifle season wraps up!

12/04/2019

Some useful info about the new trails in the ‘shed. Note that several of the segments are pending inspection and not officially open. I’ve already spent several days working on segment 2, repairing damage from unauthorized use during poor conditions. I’m glad everyone is excited for new trails, but consider this an active construction site with our funding contingent upon a successful inspection. Do you want to be the one delaying official opening?

A couple quick things about the new trails:

A. Trail #1 a.k.a. Three Saws (yes, it has a name now!) was designed as a bi-directional, multi-user trail that will see plenty of hikers, trail runners and bikers. The trail is already turning out to be very popular (success!). If you are riding downhill slow down for other users, be cool, be respectful, say Hello. Bonus pro tip: Skip Hamburg Rd, this trail was meant to get you to the top without dealing with cars!

B. As people have discovered the new trails, parking at the bottom of Hamburg has gotten tight, so squeeze in and leave as much room for other people as possible. A little goes a long way! There is also plenty of parking at the top on Hamburg Rd. and at the lot on Gambrill Park Rd where the old dirt road (Stoner Rd) meets it.

C. Please don't ride when wet, the new trails can still use some curing time and trail #2 will especially be sensitive to wet issues. Trail 2, 4 and 5 are not officially open until they have been inspected. We'll update when that has taken place.

D. The new trail names are:
1. Three Saws
2. Boundary Line
3. The Nose
4. Mouse Trap
5. Fun House

11/26/2019

Big thanks to all the volunteers that helped make the Frederick Watershed project happen this year. Double thanks to the Mid Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts - MORE watershed liasons that worked the hardest of all. Honorable mention to the Gravity Soul crew for making my berms look top shelf. Don't forget funding and project oversight from Maryland State Highway Administration and the support of The City of Frederick. Machine work is wrapped up and we just have a few loose ends to tie up before we can get the last few segments officially open. Meanwhile, you are welcome to enjoy segments 1 and 3, which are shown on a temporary map at each end of the project area.

11/22/2019

After digging hard since mid July, this little CAT took the golden scoop on the Frederick Watershed project yesterday. We saved the best for last; a mind-blowing 1-mile, bike-optimized downhill that’s full of features you’ll need to ride to believe. Come on out Sunday AM to put the shine on the final features and ride/party afterwards...9 am at the bottom of Hamburg rd. 🤙🔥