Trail Management Guidance for Mountain Bikers

Land managers, trail associations and clubs wishing to work and improve the management and quality of mountain bike trails in Scotland.

The right trails, in the right place, managed by the right people, for the long term.

Trail maintenance and development must be undertaken with the land manager’s consent. Depending on the location of the trails, the level of impact and the intended use, this can vary widely in scope and scale. This guidance provided a toolbox to help develop the most appropriate agreements for your site.

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) often underpins these partnerships, while permits and licences handle the specific works.
• Permit – Lower-effort permission for routine, pre-agreed work at a set time or location (e.g. drainage, small tread repairs using hand tools).
• Licence – Case-by-case approval for higher-impact or one-off projects such as new trail sections or reroutes requiring more detailed assessment. Can also include higher-risk work such as chainsaw operations, carried out by competent contractors.
• Sustainable Trails Plan (STP) – A longer-term strategic plan that aligns trail management with wider land-management objectives and sets out how work will be delivered through permits or licences.
• Land Transfer / Lease – For purpose-built facilities or high-use networks needing long-term security (often to enable funding or formal management).

1. Understand your context: location, rider numbers, impacts, and purpose.
2. Discuss the right model: Permit, Licence, STP, or Land Transfer—scaled to risk and capacity of both the land manager and volunteers.
3. Work transparently: agree roles through an MoU; record competence, insurance, and health & safety details.
4. Plan and deliver: use the enquiry form and flow charts to secure permissions before work begins.
5. Review regularly: update STPs and agreements as trail use or priorities change.

The Guidance contains several useful resources to help you understand and implement a management agreement for your site. These should be referenced from the Guidance to ensure the more appropriate application is used.

• Sample Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) – template for defining purpose, roles, and review arrangements.
• Permit – Routine Work Flow Chart – sample process for simple, low-impact trail work approvals.
• Licence – Non-Routine Work Flow Chart – sample steps for assessing higher-impact or complex trail projects.
• Trail Works Enquiry Form – for trail associations, clubs, or individuals seeking permission for maintenance, new trails, or post-storm clearance.
• Sustainable Trails Plan – Getting Started Guide – guidance on mapping, auditing, consulting, and delivering trail plans.

Background Guidance:

• Unauthorised Mountain Bike Trails – A Guide for Land Managers and Riders
• UK Trails Project: The Trail – Its People, Place and Time