About 35,000 mountain bikers and 3,500 to 7,000 hikers use the Muir and Carlin trails. About 3,500 to 7,000 hikers use the Nordic trail each year. Mountain bikers usually are looking for a more aerobic workout than hikers and speed through the woods quietly, often startling hikers. Designating certain trails for hikers seems a viable solution to the problem, said Bill Moorman, DNR trail coordinator. Those sections undergo considerable erosion from mountain bikes, Bjorkman said.
Vegetation disappears and soil runs down the hills.
For the past several years, plastic erosion devices have been placed on many slopes and have dramatically diminished erosion.