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Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook
Trail signing comes in two forms. Trailhead and junction signs are used to identify trail names, directions, destinations, and distances. Reassurance markers are used to mark the trail corridor when the tread may be difficult to follow.
Signing is typically used at trailheads to identify the trailhead and the trails there. At some locations, destinations accessed by these trails and the distances to the destinations will be displayed. (See Standards for Forest Service Signs & Posters, (EM 7100-15), especially parts 2.7, 5.1.1, and 5.4-5.11). Signs are also used at system trail junctions (and road crossings) to identify each trail by name and indicate its direction. Signs are also used to identify features, destinations, and occasionally, regulations, warnings, or closures.
Reassurance Markers include cut or painted blazes on trees; wood, plastic, or metal marker tags; marker posts; and cairns. These markers are used to help travelers identify the trail corridor when the tread is indistinct, the ground is covered with snow, or when the path is confused by multiple trails or obscured by weather such as dense fog. National Trails are usually marked periodically with specially designed marker tags. Signs or reassurance markers can be used to identify a system trail at confusing junctions.
The amount of signing or reassurance marking depends primarily on the planned level of challenge for the user. Low challenge trails will typically be signed with destinations and distances. The trail will usually be so obvious that reassurance marking is necessary only at points of confusion. As the desired opportunity for challenge rises, the amount of information given by signs usually drops to trail identification and direction. You may find special guidelines for wilderness. Reassurance markers are more useful as the tread becomes more difficult to identify and follow.
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