The Hidden Cost of Rogue Trail Building

Mountain bike access exists because of strong partnerships, responsible trail stewardship, and the trust we’ve built with local land managers over many years.

We want to remind everyone that any trail modifications, features, jumps, reroutes, or construction on CAMBr-managed trail systems must be reviewed and approved through the appropriate Trail Director and land manager process before any work is done.

Unauthorized trail work creates real challenges for our land managers and can jeopardize current and future trail opportunities for the entire riding community. When features are built outside of approved processes, land managers often respond by increasing oversight and removing features, which ultimately makes it harder to advocate for expanded riding experiences in the future.

CAMBr continues to work with our partners to improve and expand trail opportunities across the region, including progression-oriented riding where appropriate and sustainable. Those conversations are only possible when we demonstrate that our community respects the process and the land.

If you have ideas for trail improvements or features, we encourage you to connect with the local Trail Director and get involved in a workday. Productive input and volunteer support genuinely help move projects forward.

Thank you to everyone who volunteers, rides responsibly, and helps protect long-term trail access for the entire community.

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CAMBr Current
Trail Conditions

Natural surface trails and bike parks can be easily damaged when they’re soft, wet and/or muddy.  All trail users should stay off the singletrack trails and jump lines unless they’re dry, or frozen solid.  CAMBr volunteers put in many thousands of hours each year maintaining and constructing trails, and we closely monitor their condition.  

CAMBr uses the Trailbot smartphone app to publish trail conditions updates.  Trailbot is a completely free, ad-free, easy-to-use trail conditions app for iOS and Android  – so you’ll know what to expect before you go, and can make informed decisions when conditions aren’t favorable for hitting the singletrack.  

Visit Trailbot.com to download the app, or find it in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Within the app you’ll find not only current trail conditions updates for all your favorite CAMBr trails, but also weather information, trail descriptions, maps, and other useful links. Trailbot updates are also pushed to our website for easy access.

Please respect the trails, and all the work that goes into them, by staying off when they’re soft.

ABOVE ALL – IF YOU’RE LEAVING AN IMPRINT, IT’S TIME TO LEAVE

WHAT ARE FREEZE/THAW RULES?

There’s a season in the Chicago area, typically between mid-November and the end of March, when temperatures will drop below freezing at night and then warm up above freezing during the day. What this means for the trails is when actually frozen they are hard and good to ride. But when the temps go up and the moisture in the ground thaws, the dirt becomes very soft and muddy. This is because the water in the soil expands when frozen and it looses the tightly packed soil. The result is the trails can become very soft and muddy even if there hasn’t been much rain or snow fall.

So, to protect the trails from damage, only ride when the ground is frozen hard, and get off once the ground begins to warm up. South facing trails will usually soften up first, and if the sun it out and the temps get into the 30’s, you’ll probably need to be done by 10AM.

Remember, if you’re tires are leaving an imprint, it’s too soft to ride. 

Fat Bike Tire Pressure