TRAIL 3 REPAIRS

For years, multiple puddles and soggy areas on Trail 3 in Phillips Creek State Forest have discouraged trail users, especially in the spring and early summer.

Thus, when IMPACT was founded in 2021, a top priority was to build drainage systems and make other improvements to Trail 3—at more than two dozen sites—to provide year-round accessibility for hikers, equestrians, and cross-country skiers.

To support this work, IMPACT won a $99,414 grant from Parks and Trails New York in 2024 and raised an additional $11,046—a required “match”—from local donors including a $6,000 from the Bethesda Foundation of Hornell.

Originally, part of Trail 4 was also to be repaired in 2025, but greater than anticipated challenges of the work on Trail 3 required the postponement of repair work on Trail 4.

One of the methods of improving drainage on Trail 3 was to install culverts to carry downhill-flowing water to pass under—rather than over a trail segment. A second method, used in multiple places, was to build stone drains, applying the technique illustrated below.

After evening the trail surface with a bulldozer, geotextile material (with a durability of 50! years) was laid down. The fabric was topped with rocks and folded over them, after which tread fill material (usually gravel) was laid down.