Thompson Station Trail Project
Trail Design and Route Marketing
Work started March 13th, and completed by March 30th.
Trail Design Project includes:
- Boundary determination
- Feature identification
- Control Point marking
- Route marking of 2 trails
- Trail construction training, working with Thompsons Station staff
Trail 1 Starts at the current gravel parking area, follows western boundary, through 3 fences, overlook area for 2 picnic tables, follows old road to the top of Bald Knob, down around the backside of the Knob and back to the first part of the trail. It will be a grass trail with the trail corridor mowed 12 feet wide, the actual trail tread is 2-3 feet wide in the middle of the mowed area. Some bench cut trail construction (3-4 feet wide) will be needed in select areas with steep side slopes. Trail might be opened as soon as May 1st.
Results: Total of over 2 miles of trail were marked. Marking includes wood stakes painted orange, orange pin flags and 2” orange flagging tape. Green paint identifies trees to be cut out of trail corridor or invasive plants to be cut and herbicided. Control points were marked with two orange flags tied on one tree..
Trail 2 begins on the north end of Bald Knob, crosses the field and enters the woods into the northern half of the property. The trail is routed on the eastern side of the ridge, goes through the saddle and over to the western side of the ridge and then turns around back to the beginning of the loop.
There are some concerns at the park regarding non-native invasive plants. These are:
- Tree of Heaven
- Privet
- Bush Honeysuckle
- Multi Flora Rose
Another recommendation is to review the current mowed areas of the park, and to adjust the current mowing schedules to reduce the amount of time spent mowing. Mowing vs Bushhogging several times per year may still keep the open effect that people enjoy.
Future recommendations for the future:
- Staff of Thompsons Station to build Trail 1
- Decide who will build Trail 2, Private vs Staff, if staff builds the trail, proper equipment must be rented. 3rd party on site project specification overview is imperative.
- Decide what happens to the Barn
- Determination of best locations for new park facilities as noted in the Master Plan.
- Trail 2 should be built using a private trail construction company, or...
- Use trained volunteers to build portions of the trail in the more sensitive sections.
If you have a project that needs funding, check with Bob to see which program might be best to leverage your local funding.